Date: 1/28/26 5:07 am From: Lauren Brown via CTBirds <ctbirds...> Subject: [CT Birds] 100s of Crows Waterbury
I'm no birder but I'd just like to throw in some past observations. In the late 80s and early 90s when I used to commute from Fairfield back to my home in Branford, the West Haven roost around Exit 43 was always fascinating. What really amazed me was not only the huge number of birds but the distance from which they seemed to be coming; as I continued driving east, I would see crows flying pretty high towards the west almost all the way into Branford. I could also see them coming from the northeast, but whether others came from the north or even the west, I never found out as I was driving. One of those spectacles that one can never tire of.
Lauren Brown
Branford
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: 100’s of Crows Waterbury (Paul Fusco)
2. COA's 42nd Annual Meeting - March 7, 2026 (<leamycorey...> <mailto:<leamycorey...>)
3. Re: 100’s of Crows Waterbury (C. S. Wood)
4. Bring seed (MICKY KOMARA)
I often see dozens + of crows flying in late afternoon from farm fields in Southbury toward the direction of Waterbury. Don’t know if this observation is related to the Waterbury crow roost. I would think to get that many crows at the roost site they must be flying in from a good distance.
Paul Fusco
Oxford, CT
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jan 27, 2026, at 6:33 AM, C. S. Wood via CTBirds <ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> wrote:
>
> The latest destination i’ve seen is exactly at the mixmaster
> interchange of route 84 and route 8, in trees north and south of 84.
> Not far from the Waterbury Hospital site that Bruce recalls.
>
> Chris Wood
> Woodbury, CT
> 203 558-0654
> [1]C.S. Wood Photo Sampler
>
> On Jan 26, 2026, at 9:51 AM, Folsom-O'Keefe, Corrie via CTBirds
> <ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> wrote:
>
> I'm hoping to leave work early one of these days and get to the area
> ~half hour before sunset. It is tricky to observe while driving on
> I-84 during rush hour. I'm hoping to get off the highway and follow
> the crows to their final evening destination.
>
> Cheers,
> Corrie Folsom-O'Keefe
> Cheshire, CT
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jan thespiriteddesign.com <jan...> <mailto:<jan...>> > Sent: Monday, January 26, 2026 9:31 AM
> To: Adam Fasciolo <adam_fasciolo...> <mailto:<adam_fasciolo...>> > Cc: Tom Baptist <tbaptist47n...> <mailto:<tbaptist47n...>>; Folsom-O'Keefe, Corrie
> <corrie.folsomokeefe...> <mailto:<corrie.folsomokeefe...>>; Birds CT
> <ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> > Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Re: 100’s of Crows Waterbury
> Sent from Jan's cell phone.
> Please excuse autocorrects🌿
> Are there any photos?
>
> On Jan 25, 2026, at 11:29 AM, Adam Fasciolo via CTBirds
> <ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> wrote:
>
> Continuing this very interesting topic on Crows in Connecticut.
>
> Yesterday, Saturday January 24th, while driving through Waterbury on
> Route 8 at approximately 5PM, my wife Jo and I could see hundreds of
> Crows in the sky. A conservative estimate would be 300. But it could
> have been upwards of 500.
>
> It would be interesting at some point to set up a viewing with
> binoculars a/o scopes one day to try and get a better viewing of
> exactly where they’re coming from and also if the flock is just one
> (American Crow?) species.
>
> Adam Fasciolo
>
> Norwalk, CT
>
> On Jan 9, 2026, at 9:59 AM, Tom Baptist via CTBirds
> <ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> wrote:
>
> The history of winter crow roosts in Connecticut is fascinating.
>
> Connecticut Birds (Zeranski & Baptist 1990) cites an article
>
> published in Bird-Lore in 1933 that listed winter crow roosts in
> five
>
> Connecticut counties, the largest roost being in Hartford of 50,000
>
> birds and indicated that that roost was "known to exist for at least
>
> 100 years". Believing that crows were significant predators of eggs
>
> and young of waterfowl, song and insectivorous birds, the
> Connecticut
>
> Board of Fisheries and Game embarked on a campaign in the winter of
>
> 1932-33 to eradicate crows at their winter roosts and approximately
>
> 1,000 birds were shot that winter before the effort was abandoned.
>
> The crows simply dispersed to form new roosts, "thus outrunning the
> men performing the killing."
>
> On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 12:58 PM Folsom-O'Keefe, Corrie via CTBirds <
>
> <ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> wrote:
>
> In the winter months, when I'm driving home from the Bent of the
>
> River Audubon Center, I see the birds congregating around the Rte
>
> 8/84 interchange. Often there is a line of birds coming from
>
> Northeast and I'm pretty sure the birds that fly over my house in
>
> Cheshire in the morning and early evening are coming and going from
>
> this roost. New Year Eve, I was headed home from a gathering north
>
> of Waterbury. It was snowing, thundering, and lighting. As we
>
> drove through Waterbury, a flash of lighting startled the crows and
>
> they took to the air. Snow, orange illuminated skies, and crow
> everywhere. It was quite the sight.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Corrie Folsom-O'Keefe
>
> Cheshire, CT
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: C. S. Wood via CTBirds <ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> >
> Sent: Tuesday, January 6, 2026 11:48 AM
>
> To: Frank Mantlik <mantlik...> <mailto:<mantlik...>> >
> Cc: Birds CT <ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> >
> Subject: [CT Birds] Re: 100’s of Crows Waterbury
>
> There has been a crow roost in Waterbury for at least 40 years. It
>
> has apparently relocated from the northern part of the city to the
>
> area around the Rt 8/Rt 84 interchange. I just noticed it recently,
>
> but I do not travel that way in the evening as often these days so
>
> I don’t know how long it has been there.
>
> Chris Wood
>
> Woodbury, CT
>
> 203 558-0654
>
> [1]C.S. Wood Photo Sampler
>
> On Jan 5, 2026, at 11:23 PM, Frank Mantlik via CTBirds
>
> <ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> wrote:
>
> Hello Ian,
>
> I remember the Norwalk crow roost well. I no longer live in
>
> Norwalk, so the fact that the evening roost no longer exists is
>
> news to me. Perhaps those crows are now flying all the way to
>
> Waterbury, or even West Haven.
>
> Frank Mantlik
>
> Stratford
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jan 5, 2026, at 10:32 PM, Ian Devlin via CTBirds
>
> <ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> wrote:
>
> 4:30pm
>
> Waterbury by Route 8
>
> Hundreds of crows flocking to roost for the night in treetops
> along
>
> RT 8 by Waterbury.
>
> I used to see this reliably and all the time in the evening
> between
>
> Exit 15 I-95/Route 7 Connector to DMV back in the 1980’s into the
>
> 1990’s. If not hundreds of crows, then at least thousands of them.
>
> No more. Does anyone else remember this phenomenon there and then?
>
> Capt. Ian Devlin
>
> Norwalk, CT.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
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> References
>
> 1.
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/cswood-photos/albums/72157710313935571 <https://www.flickr.com/photos/cswood-photos/albums/72157710313935571> >
> /
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> --
>
> Tom Baptist
>
> 19 Brookside Court
>
> East Hampton, CT 06424
>
> (203) 979-6800
>
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> <ctbirds-request...> <mailto:<ctbirds-request...> > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
> birders together statewide. Please support COA:
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> References
>
> 1. https://www.flickr.com/photos/cswood-photos/albums/72157710313935571/ <https://www.flickr.com/photos/cswood-photos/albums/72157710313935571/> >
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We want to invite you to join us on March 7, 2026 for our 42nd Annual Meeting held on UConn’s Avery Point Campus. Registration is now open to all - we encourage you to sign-up early and to help us spread the word about this awesome event.
We’re thrilled to be joined by presenters Amar Ayyash (keynote), Holly Merker, and Nick Bonomo. For more information about our presenters visit the COA website - www.ctbirding.org/annual-meeting
Our Exhibitor Hall will once again feature some of our wonderful local organizations such as the Connecticut Audubon Society, CAS Ecotravel, The Audubon Shop, Sunrise Birding, and more
Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Happy Birding,
Corey, COA Secretary & Annual Meeting Committee Co-Chair
Back in the 1980’s i would see a steady stream of crows heading north
at the top of Cheshire Hill on I-84 while commuting home in the evening
from Hartford. I assumed they were heading to the roost site in north
Waterbury and coming from the shore and landfills still open down that
way.
Chris Wood
Woodbury, CT
203 558-0654
[1]C.S. Wood Photo Sampler
I often see dozens + of crows flying in late afternoon from farm
fields in Southbury toward the direction of Waterbury. Don’t know if
this observation is related to the Waterbury crow roost. I would think
to get that many crows at the roost site they must be flying in from a
good distance.
Paul Fusco
Oxford, CT
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 27, 2026, at 6:33 AM, C. S. Wood via CTBirds
<ctbirds...> <mailto:<ctbirds...>> wrote:
The latest destination i’ve seen is exactly at the mixmaster
interchange of route 84 and route 8, in trees north and south of
84.
Not far from the Waterbury Hospital site that Bruce recalls.
Chris Wood
Woodbury, CT
203 558-0654
[1]C.S. Wood Photo Sampler
On Jan 26, 2026, at 9:51 AM, Folsom-O'Keefe, Corrie via CTBirds
To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just
"join" or "leave" in the subject or body to:
<ctbirds-request...> <mailto:<ctbirds-request...>
While visiting Hammonasset, I noticed that the birds are desperately looking for any kind of food, picking through snow plow piles for any bits of food they can find. So please bring seed
M KomaraWestbrook
End of CTBirds Digest, Vol 6755, Issue 2
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