There is a large population of crows in the American city of Portland, Oregon. Hannah Seibold of the Portland Tribune has called the crows "one of Portland's most famous wild residents". While some of the birds are migratory, most are residents of the region. According to Bird Alliance of Oregon, crows gather along the Willamette River because there are "fewer conflicts". There are also fewer predators in downtown Portland. The crow population in Portland can reach as high as 15,000 to 23,000. The population has increased in the last decade.
There is a seasonal pattern to the crow roosting. During the fall season (August to October), crows return to the city for "pre-roost". Peak urban roosting takes places during the winter season (November to February). There is a population decrease during the spring season (March and April), before peak breeding occurs during the summer season (May to July).
The Portland Crow Roost is a project to count and document the roosting locations of the local crow population.
According to BBC Wildlife, Portland's "crow problems" began in 2014. While the use of bird poison on public property has been banned since 2019, some dead crows have been found with the neurotoxin Avitrol in their system. The city has a small team of falconers who use hawks to move crows out of a focused 72-block radius. In 2026, crows attacked employees at Legacy Emanuel.
Portland's crows are depicted in the film Wildwood; the film inspired the art installation Wildwood: Follow the Crows. In 2026, the Peace House in Irvington was converted into a haunted house called "Crow Manor". Proceeds from the haunted house benefited Doernbecher Children's Hospital.
See also
Fauna of Oregon List of birds of Oregon
References
External links
Portland Crow Roost The Downtown Portland Crow Roost, Bird Alliance of Oregon Counting Crows in Downtown PDX, Reed Data Science Spring 2020, Reed College Birds of prey to be unleashed in downtown Portland Tuesday to show public how falconry solves crow problem (2019), The Oregonian Downtown Portland non-profit brings birds of prey to drive away crows (2020), KGW Portland woman’s viral story of accidentally creating a loyal ‘army’ of crows is sweet, but is it true? (2021), The Oregonian Why There are So Many Crows in Portland, KATU