Crows & Connecticut Valley's Crow Roost:
A Spectacular Winter Event with Naturalist Patti Steinman
A Spectacular Winter Event with Naturalist Patti Steinman
Sunday, February 5, 2023
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2 - 3 pm: Zoom Presentation
4:45 pm: Field Trip to a Crow Roost in Springfield (limited to 20)
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Join naturalist Patti Steinman for an informational zoom presentation about crows--from the complex ways that different cultures and traditions have treated them to their natural history. After the presentation, take a field trip (limited to 20) to the Springfield Roost to observe crows. To carpool or caravan to the field trip site, arrive at 4 pm at a location in downtown Northampton to be provided prior to the event.
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Crows & Connecticut Valley's Crow Roost
Over time and across cultures, crows have been cast as figures in art, poetry, and storytelling. In some cultures, they have been recognized for their wit, curiosity, mischief-making and playfulness. In others they’re viewed as bad omens and symbols of death and doom. In colonial America, crows were considered pests and a serious nuisance to crops. Northampton’s first crow bounty was in 1735, and bounties continued in the nineteenth century. Through the World War II era, crows were poisoned and hunted, and their roosts were bombed. |
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Recent new research about their intelligence and complex social behavior has led to a new understanding and appreciation for crows and their impressive fall and winter roosts. For the last two decades, Patti Steinman, a naturalist at MassAudubon, has been studying crows and the City of Springfield’s Crow Roost, one of the largest in the state. At this time of year, it is the nightly gathering spot for about 10,000 crows—including all the crows that you see in Northampton during the day.
Steinman’s program will include two components, an informational zoom presentation about crows--from the complex ways that different cultures and traditions have treated them to their natural history—followed by a field trip (limited to 20) to the Springfield Roost to observe crows. |
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Patti Steinman is the Education Coordinator of Mass Audubon’s Connecticut River Valley Sanctuaries and lives in Easthampton. She has worked in the environmental education field for over 30 years developing, teaching, and overseeing adult programs, day camps, nature preschools and special events. Although interested in all aspects of natural history, at this time of year, on most evenings Patti can be found following the crows to their winter roost.