Portland's crow roost returns as 1,500 birds gather downtown

About 1,500 crows have gathered near Pioneer Courthouse Square, the first wave of a downtown roost that researchers expect will top 20,000 birds by winter.

Gary Granger, co-founder of the Portland Crow Roost project and a certified Oregon naturalist, has been tracking the flock as it rebuilds across the city core, KATU reported Monday, Sept. 7. Granger and physician Dr. Rebecca Provorse launched the citizen science initiative in late 2017. The pair conduct nocturnal counts across 13 miles of gridded streets within a 400-block downtown zone.

The numbers have climbed steeply. In January 2024, the project recorded a peak winter population of 22,370 roosting crows downtown. That is a fourfold increase since systematic counting began in late 2017. Early estimates from 2013 put the flock at roughly 5,000 birds.

Why downtown Portland

Wildlife experts at the Bird Alliance of Oregon point to several factors pulling crows into the urban core, the Northwest Examiner reported in February. The city's heat-island effect keeps overnight temperatures warmer than surrounding countryside. Dense tree canopy, night lighting that deters predators like Great Horned Owls, and easy access to food waste all play a role.

Hawks, not poison

Downtown Portland Clean & Safe has contracted Integrated Avian Solutions since 2017 to fly trained Harris's hawks four to five nights a week between October and April. The hawks haze crows out of a 72-block commercial core, nudging them toward open, grassy waterfront areas where droppings cause less property damage.

The Portland City Council voted unanimously in June 2019 to ban toxic bird poisons, known as avicides, on all municipal property, OPB reported at the time. The ban mandated non-lethal methods such as falconry and power-washing. American crows are also federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The costs add up. Earlier in 2026, the Northwest Community Conservancy in the Pearl District paid $24,000 to Integrated Avian Solutions for a private hawk abatement program after crows damaged rooftop insulation, pecked at HVAC equipment and soiled sidewalks, the Northwest Examiner reported.

Before the hawks arrived, business improvement districts spent tens of thousands of dollars in 2016 on a motorized sidewalk scrubber nicknamed the "Poopmaster 6000." The machine could not keep pace with droppings on benches, awnings and elevated structures.

What's ahead

The hazing program is set to resume in October and run through April. No public watch events for the 2026 roost season have been announced. Residents can follow the count through the Portland Crow Roost project.