It has seemed to me that the local Crow population is increasing in my North Berkeley neighbors. This has been confirmed by friends in Audubon and now an article in the San Francisco Chronicle explains more:
“In 1991, Audubon Christmas Bird Counts tallied 17 crows and 54 ravens in San Francisco; 60 crows and 23 ravens in Oakland. The 2011 San Francisco count reported 599 ravens and 566 crows; Oakland had 1,152 crows and 193 ravens”.
The increase is due to a number of reasons:
- they are not shot in cities
- cities tend to be warmer than countryside
- there are large trees for night roosting
- less likely to encounter their main predator the Great Horned Owl
- city lights help crows spot owls
- lots of food scraps on the streets
Read more in the SF Chronicle Why ravens, crows are more common now in Bay Area.
Natural History Wanderings 
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