A Murder of Crows

A few weeks ago I saw the biggest gathering of crows that I have ever seen. (The photo above captured just over half of them.) I am used to seeing murders of crows of six to twelve in my backyard, but to see two dozen in a single group was quite an experience.

Crows are loud birds and in this group they were constantly communicating. Sometimes they would all hang out in the tall pine trees just off the corner of my pasture. Then some of them would fly to nearby treetops before returning to the big pines. Eventually something signaled to them and they all flew off and out of site. Calm and quiet returned upon their departure.

(Click the images to enlarge them.)