About The Weymouth Murder

A group of crows is called a murder. This is the story of mine.

I moved to Weymouth and quickly became fascinated by the carrion crows around the beach and esplanade. Hopefully we all know that crows are pretty intelligent, and I've long been looking for an excuse to get to know some local corvids. So moving to the town and being close to the beach area seemed like an ideal opportunity.

As crows are a lot more intelligent than many other birds, and I've done some research to check my theory, I'm fairly confident that them getting comfortable around me, won't influence them being comfortable around other humans. Aggressive seagulls are a real problem in British coastal towns, and I didn't want to add to this problem with a murder of corvids harassing holiday makers!

My morning dog walks give me the opportunity to dress in familiar clothes, and I have the big bonus of having a very chill dog, so the crows have quickly come to recognise us and allow us to hang out with them.

This site is my attempt to document them. I'm learning to identify individuals by their physical features and behaviour, recording sightings in a diary, and building a directory of the crows I've come to recognise.

Why crows?

Corvids are among the most intelligent animals on the planet. They use tools, recognise human faces, hold grudges, and form complex social bonds. Once you start paying attention, you can't stop.

My grand goal is to have them help collect litter from along the beach, but honestly that's a long way off and more of a dream. For now I want to watch them and see how they socialise. Most corvid research seems to be around smaller groups, but when food is around there can be over 50 crows in one spot, so the dynamic changes with a big murder like that. Hopefully it'll be useful, but mostly it's just nice to chill with a murder!

But also, as I say, they seem to keep the seagulls in their place, and that can't be a bad thing when the gulls can be pretty aggressive! Despite the fact I always have food, the seagulls don't appear to be bold enough to get close. Occasionally a young one might be brave, but the crows don't tolerate them much.

Get in touch

Follow along on Instagram or come down to Weymouth beach with some unsalted peanuts. Be careful not to feed the seagulls though! The crows actually do a great job of keeping the seagulls away, but you still need to be careful when putting out food.

Just to repeat: please do not feed the seagulls or do anything that might encourage the seagulls!