CROWS OF STILL CREEK (2015 to Present)

Crows of Still Creek is a continuing mixed media photography series by Marta Musa.

This series is an exploration of the lives of the thousands of crows that flock to and roost at Still Creek in Burnaby BC. Every day at dusk, the Northwestern Crows of the four cities of Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster begin their 30 - 40 minute commute to their nightly roost.

These crows have roosted at Still Creek in the city of Burnaby since the early 1970's. There is protection in numbers from their predators. Every night they descend on their roost site, filling the sky with thousands of cawing birds.They settle in trees along Still Creek to rest for the night, ever vigilant for any potential threats. Any perceived predator sets off a chain reaction of vocalizations and waves of crows abandoning their roost. Though their predators have a difficult time dealing with the loss of habitat from rapid development in the are; the Crow has thrived and adapted to its new environment. Using available structures as roosts, they have made do with the changes we have made to their landscape. The Crows take advantage of the urbanized environment, scavenging within the city during the day and then settling in these large urban roosts at night.

Each piece begins with photographing the crows at dusk, followed by transferring the image onto a wooden panel and staining it.