Something to crow about: Crowfest swoops in to Chatham-Kent this fall

This fall, crows will be an even bigger presence than usual in Chatham-Kent.

The community is embracing the crows that winter there through a new event, Crowfest, scheduled to take place in October.

"We have tens of thousands of crows down here, and let's celebrate them," Chatham-Kent mayor, and Crowfest co-chair, Darrin Canniff said on CBC's Windsor Morning.

"Chatham-Kent is home in the wintertime for them," he said. "So let's get together, have a couple weeks of festivals culminating in a couple of big days of bands, and all sorts of other events."

Canniff said plans are still being finalized, but what is known is Crowfest will start on Oct. 1, and run for about two weeks; among the expected events are costume contests, crow-calling contests, and outdoor concerts, which include crow themed bands.

Crows are ubiquitous, ranging across North America. But some areas see more of the black-plumed birds than others.

That includes Chatham-Kent, due to the area's farmland and forests, said Larry Cornelis of the Sydenham Field Naturalists, the nature club of Chatham-Kent.

"We have some of the best farmland, probably in North America, in Chatham-Kent," Cornelis said. "There's a lot of things in agriculture fields that crows can benefit from. Just spillage of corn and soybeans and wheat seeds."

"So they found in this food basket around what looks to them like a forest, which is the city of Chatham, and so every every night they get together to roost," he said. "Then, of course, every morning, as the sun rises, they disperse from their roost and they spread out all around Chatham in the countryside, feeding in the fields again."

"And then at dusk, they all come back, and I think it's it's a real treat to just sit in the big parking lot at about, you know, 4:30, 5 o'clock, and watch the return of the crows."

Cornelis said the relationship between Chatham-Kent residents and the crows can be, at times, testy.

Crows, after all, are vocal. They can be messy, as well, tearing into garbage bags and leaving droppings, which can be a major nuisance due to the sheer number of the birds in the Chatham-Kent area.

"It is big numbers," he said. "Our Christmas bird count, we've estimated over the years, between 125,000 and 150,000 [crows]."

"But it's probably bigger than that. But how do you count 200,000 crows accurately, right? That's quite a challenge," Cornelis said. "They just found the perfect scenario for roosting and eating here in Chatham-Kent."