"The Golden Gate Bird Alliance, a nonprofit based in Berkeley, organizes volunteers to record all the bird species in San Francisco for the Audubon Society's historic international count from late December to early January. According to the group, the city's crow numbers have climbed in recent years, fluctuating from 738 in 2019 to 2,630 in 2023. The most recent count, which started in December 2025, is roughly double 2024's 1,532 crows."
""This huge increase of crows all of a sudden is because they're really good at living in our urban environments and feeding on our trash," Whitney Grover, the director of conservation for the Golden Gate Bird Alliance, told SFGATE. "Crows are adapting to living in these denser human landscapes better than other birds especially. That can be problematic for the other bird species because crows are predators.""
American crow populations in San Francisco reached 3,260 during the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count, up from just five documented in 1984. Local tallies rose from 738 in 2019 to 2,630 in 2023 and 1,532 in 2024; the most recent count starting December 2025 is roughly double 2024's figure. Crows appear to be thriving in denser urban landscapes by exploiting trash and other food sources. Their intelligence and predatory behavior can disadvantage other bird species. Aggregated Bay Area data show a sharp regional increase over five years and an upward trend since 1975. Counts still require adjustment for volunteer effort.
Read at SFGATE
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