The second count of commuting crows in South Aldergrove wrapped up on Tuesday, Feb. 15, with an average count of 52,900 birds settling in each night.

Every winter, crows from the United States, 91原创, Abbotsford, and possibly as far as Surrey flock together in a forested area near 16th Avenue and 256th Street.

Two years ago, the 91原创 Environmental Partners Society organized a bird count in partnership with local environmental groups. They estimated that about 37,000 crows were roosting in the area every night.

With volunteers from the community and members of the 91原创 Field Naturalists taking up positions in all four directions around the site this year, the average count went up.

Dreves said there鈥檚 no way to know if the crow population roosting in the area has actually increased, with just two years of data.

鈥淚t could honestly be better counting,鈥� she said.

The larger number of people coming out to count the crows also meant more people are aware of it, and many saw it for the first time, Dreves said.

She said it was heartwarming to see people being able to connect with nature.

The winter 鈥渃ommute鈥� is something crows on the West Coast do in a few places. The other big Lower Mainland one, much better known, sees crows flock from Vancouver and the North Shore to Burnaby every night.

In spring and summer, the daily migration will end, as spread out across the 91原创 area to mate, build nests, and raise chicks.

Starting in the autumn, they鈥檒l begin roosting together again, finding safety in numbers.

LEPS and the LFN had volunteers out on four nights, between Feb. 2 and 15, to count the crows, and averaged out the four counts to get the typical number.

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