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LETTER: Langley crow count leaves resident ‘awestruck’

Thousands of crows converge at sunset in South Langley. No one knows why.
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Ginny Vanderhorst took part in a crow count hosted by the Langley Environmental Partners Society. LEPS hosted counts on four days in early February 2022. (Vanderhorst/Special to the Langley Advance Times)

Dear Editor,

Re: [Be on the lookout for a ‘murder’, Langley Advance Times, Feb. 3]

I am not a birder, but I was attracted to your article. It told of a “crow count of a crow commute”. According to the Langley Environmental Partners Society, at this time of year, crows come to a south Langley forested area to roost at night, for safety. The numbers are significant; two years ago, there were estimated to be about 37,000 crows per night. I expected that to be a typo, so I went to check it out. That many crows: it cannot be!

The crows start to gather from afar, in trees and fields close to the resting area, and wait till sunset before they make their move. Once the sun has dipped down, the clouds of crows start to fly to their destination for the night. They leave again in the morning, to come to the same place again in the evening.

I was in a group on the east side of this great gathering. I was a looker, not a counter, this being my first bird counting experience. Other counting groups were stationed at various other places on all sides of the roosting area, all armed with clickers to keep track of their count.

It was amazing to watch the crowds of crows start to congregate, and the cawing sounds rise. Truly, when it was time to move to their spot, I had literally thousands of crows flying overhead. Photos don’t do it justice; you have to see it and hear it. In less than 15 minutes, it was done.

Why do they come there? No one knows, but they would have been back this evening, and again tomorrow. I was again awestruck at the wonder of nature and creation.

Ginny Vanderhorst, Langley City

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• READ MORE: Aldergrove resident captures photo of crows congregating

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