First published on August 10, 2026 • Last updated on August 10, 2026
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Scott and I headed out birdwatching today in downtown Portland, following a trail of charcoal black feathers lying on the ground like breadcrumbs leading to treasure. In anticipation of LAIKA’s upcoming stop-motion film Wildwood, based on the first book in the beloved children’s series by author Colin Meloy and illustrator Carson Ellis, the city has filled its streets with 30 hand-painted crow statues, a nod to the infamous murder of crows that kidnaps the heroine’s baby brother in its very first chapter.

We meandered downtown, visiting 10 beauties on our first day out on the Wildwood: Follow the Crows trail, which opened this week with a kickoff event in our neighborhood, St. Johns.

The St Johns Library with a crow statue on the sidewalk in front of the steps leading to the front entrance.

About Follow the Crows

Standing at almost 5 feet, a little taller on their pedestals, these crows demand attention. And it isn’t just their size that catches your eye. Local artists have hand-painted each one, lending unique flair to the collection as a whole and to each individual bird. They are so very Portland, taking something common and turning it into the weird and wonderful. There are bound to be favorites (Scott and I have already disagreed on our rankings).

The Follow the Crows event is a fundraiser for OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, which will receive funds from the auctioned pieces when they go to auction on November 15. If you are hoping to vie for one, you might want to consider voting online for some of the others, in hopes of fending off competing bids (wink, wink).

Sakura Hanami, a 5-foot crow statue painted in pale blue with a spattering of pink cherry trees across its breast sits in the plaza in front of City Hall.

Follow the Crows App

So we didn’t really follow feathers, though we saw plenty of them on the tree-lined sidewalks of downtown Portland, lending credence to the fact that crows roost among office buildings, small plazas, restaurants, and small shops in the Pearl. Instead, we used the downloadable app. While not free, a portion of its minimal $1.49 purchase price also goes to Doernbecher; it’s available for Android and iPhone.

A nice benefit to using  the app is that it provides artist bios, explanations of the artwork, and links to their websites. We don’t provide those in this article because we want you to buy the app and support the Doernbecher.

If you are looking to enjoy the walk for free, you might prefer the FREE downloadable PDF map. Word on the street, literally, says that the PDF is better for actual locations. The app is slightly off in a few locations, which we’ll walk through below, starting with the crow closest to home.

To collect the crows in the app, you will need to click on the collect button, which can be found on the general map (don’t click on the bird icon, otherwise the button hides). Then, find the numbers at the base of the bird and enter them into the app. The bird icon for this statue will then turn green on your map while the others remain gray.

If you are doing this with kids and they each have a printed map, simple star stickers might do the trick!

It Begins at the St. Johns Library

When looking at the map, you might notice that a single crow sits far from its 29 brethren. Out on the Peninsula, in the small neighborhood of St. Johns, this lone crow perches in front of the library. You may wonder why. But only if you haven’t read the book.

The crows kidnap the baby brother of Wildwood’s protagonist, Prue, taking him in their claws from the safety of a local park, flying him across St. Johns with Prue in pursuit on her bicycle, until they pass over the Willamette River into the wilds of what we call Forest Park. It’s a dark beginning to a story worthy of the Brothers Grimm.

The crow in front of the St. Johns Library is special: it uses art from the original book, created by illustrator Carson Ellis. Its solid body, painted ecru, seems etched in black paint, highlighting the map that lays out the world of Wildwood, from St. Johns to the Industrial Wastelands to Wildwood itself. Ellis noted at the unveiling that she had yet to see how her artwork had been used and was as excited as the rest of us to see the results.

The back of a 5-foot crow sculpture with map of wildwood painted on a pale surface, crowd blurred in the background.

Downtown Portland Is Alive with Crows

But to get more bang for your buck, the place to see the most crows in a short amount of time is definitely downtown Portland. After all, the event is supported by the Visit Downtown Campaign and in partnership with the Portland Metro Chamber, Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, and Wild in Art, a UK-based creator of public art trails.

We saw nine more crows on our trip downtown this past Sunday. Each one was so unique. It was more than a little suprising to see crows that were not painted in black, blue, or deep purple. I loved noticing the details on each an everyone, a well-painted eye, a hidden bird, an iconic bridge, a plethora of native plants. The details are part of the pleasure so be sure to take the time to admire each one. This is more than a snap a shot and move on kind of moment.

Our tips for birding downtown? We started on a Sunday morning for three reasons: cooler temps on a hot August day, fewer people, and free parking before 1 p.m. We avoided Tom McCall Waterfront Park, always crowded on a Sunday and especially when there’s a special event like the Providence Bridge Pedal, which took over the bridges that day. We will likely head back to Tom McCall mid-week and definitely hit Pittock Mansion in the morning, before the parking lot gets crowded. We’ll make sure to note details below. 

While you don’t need to buy anything, we highly recommend using your crow time to visit some local businesses. We stopped for coffee at a local coffee house, ate brunch at Daily Feast, and bought a book of T.S. Eliot’s cat poetry from a small bookshop just down the street from Powell’s. In our descriptions below, we make a few recommendations of our favorite spots.

A crow statue pained with blocks of vibrant jewel tones and white lines stands across the street from Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon

The Crows

We will update this list as we see more crows!

These are listed in the order that we saw them but by no means should you feel limited by our navigation skills downtown. You may have a better path to take!

We will also note any difficulty we had finding a given crow. The app is slightly off by a block or so on some of them, frustrating for treasure hunters with limited walking stamina, especially children. And, if there is a favorite business of ours nearby, we will leave a note — after all, tourism is about more than sightseeing, it’s about giving back to the community, especially small, local business owners who, in turn, put money back into the local economy.

The World of Wildwood

Artist: Carson Ellis

Sponsor: Laika
A statue along the Follow the Crows Trail in Portland, Oregon that is ecru in color and decorated with maps from the children's book Wildwood.

Ellis’s own book art brought to life, an ecru body etched in black paint, mapping the world of Wildwood from St. Johns to the Industrial Wastelands to Wildwood itself. It is easy to see why this crow stands in front of the St. Johns Library, a key location in the story. It makes a great entry point for the entire Follow the Crow trail.

Notes: Located in front of the St Johns Library on North Charleston Ave, this bird might be the most difficult to see if you don’t own a vehicle. You can arrive by bus, Line 4-Fessenden is the most direct to the library but Line 16 stops only a few blocks away. If you want to be like Prue, consider riding your bike!

A close-up shot of the front of the World of Wildwood Crow, showing its head and beak in profile.
A close-up shot of the front of the World of Wildwood Crow, showing its back and tail.

Nearby favorites: The John Street Cafe is great for breakfast and lunch, The Sparrow Bakery for sweet treats, for gluten-free pastries and tasty drinks, check out The Great North. A new arts collective worth browsing is TreeHaus and you should walk down to Bees and Beans candy store for excellent locally-made chocolate. Kids always love visiting Wonderwood Springs, cafe and the indoor mini-golf, both projects of Mike Bennet. If you want to buy a copy of Wildwood, check for used at Revolution Books and new at Two Rivers Bookstore.

Overgrowth

Artist: Rae Sheridan

Sponsor: Oregon Film Trail | Prosper Portland’s Office of Events and Film
A close-up of the crow sculpture Overgrowth found at Pioneer Plaza

This stunning sculpture plays with color starting with the crow’s head, painted in deep black, irridescent purple, and marine blue shot with bright teal and pale yellow feathers. These hues waterfall down to become a brilliant backdrop of peacock blue, a portrait of a yellow green lake with pink and black folliage nested within the bird’s breast and belly. 

Notes: The app shows this sculpture across the street. Just head to the corner Morrison and Broadway at Pioneer Courthouse Square. This beautiful bird is one of the hardest to photograph well as its placement outside the square does not highlight its stately pose. The day we went, black fencing with advertising immediately behind it prevented us from taking excellent shots. We may go back to try again.

A full-body shot of the crow statue, Overgrowth, at Pioneer Plaza in Portland, oregon
Overgrowth, a crow sculpture along the Follow the Crows trail, taken from the front to show the intricate detail on its breast.

Nearby favorites: We went into the Marie-Marie, a perfume store, for the first time with our son and daughter-in-law a couple of months ago. We love it! If you like hand-crafted scents and quality perfumes, its worth a sniff.

Flying Fields Forever

Artist: Sue-Del McCulloch

Sponsor: Portland Metro Chamber | Downtown Portland Clean & Safe
Head and shoulder shot of the crow sculpture, Flying Fields Forever, highlighting its sky blue body and beak and intricate Moon and Stars eye.

Flying Fields Below is a study in contrasts. The crow is painted in two opposing color schemes: its top half in sky blue shot with white clouds, a marvelous backdrop for Mount Hood that appears on the bird’s breast; the lower half is shades of green with stripes of deep rust and gold, showing layers of forest, river valley, hills, and farm fields. Take special note of the two eyes – one is a moon with stars, the other a shining sun. 

Notes: This is a bird that shines in gorgeous mid-morning light. It helps that the spacious fountain-filled Director Park allows plenty of space for this sculpture to breathe. 

Front of the crow sculpture Flying Fields Forever, note the upper half is painted sky blue shot with white clouds behind a snow covered Mount Hood, the lower half with green trees and farm fields.
The reverse side of the Flying Fields Forever crow shows the upper half in sky blue and white puffy clouds, the lower half is layers of forests, hills, ravines, and river valley.

Nearby favorites: Check out Kinouniya Bookstore. It’s really more a mini-superstore full of Japanese books, stationary, art supplies, and more.  

Bloom

Artist: Victoria Smith

Sponsor: Columbia Precast Concrete | Township Building Services
A head and shoulders shot of Bloom, a crow statue outside the Portland Art Museum.

Bloom is a bold depiction of an oversized botanical print on black background; some of the images include a bright yellow flower with orange middle along its nape, red echinacea at its throat, and bubblegum pink with mint green foliage across its body. 

Notes: Placed directly outside the Portland Art Museum entrance, this bold bird is posted incorrectly on the app on Salmon Street.

The crow sculpture Bloom is painted in bold oversized botanical print against a deep black background.
From the front, the Bloom crow sculpture is a bold statement, from its turquoise eye to the coxcomb like red flower painted at its throat.

Nearby favorites: We recommend visiting the Portland Art Museum, especially if you can time your trip for the first Thursday of the month, when entrace is free from 10am to 7pm.

Oregon Botanica

Artist: Emma van Halsema

Sponsor: Oregon Symphony | All Classical Radio and the International Children’s Arts Network
A close-up of head and shoulders of the crow statue Oregon Botanica.

As a nature lover, I was enamored with this crow. Seemingly plain from a distance, this crow needs to be admired up close. It’s head is painted a dark foggy gray, like a Portland sky before a bad storm. A tree grows up its back, past the nape, just stopping short of its eyes. Low on its belly, around its waist, and down into its tail, flowers like foxglove, trillium, and rhodendron, bloom.

Notes: While the app says Park and Main, look on Main at Broadway, outside the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The crow sits almost directly under the large Portland sign.

Front view of Oregon Botanica, a crow sculpture with foxglove painted on the crows belly.
The head, shoulders, and tail view of Oregon Botanica, a sculpture along the Follow the Crows trail in Portland, Oregon

Nearby favorites: About a block away, you’lll find yourself at Columbia Sportwear and their great collection of t-shirts highlighting iconic Portland and Oregon destinations. 

Sakura Hanami

Artist: Maya McDarragh

Sponsor: City of Portland
The pink and blue statue titled Sakura Hanami, part of the Follow the Crows trail, stands before Portland City Hall.

This is another crow that deserves close attention. Its black feet and legs are also the trunks of the cherry trees depicted around its flank. Along its wings and back, the artist has carefully added highlights from Tom McCall Park, including the iconic Steel Bridge.

Notes: While located in the same place as on the app, it is helpful to know that this crow is best seen from SW 4th Avenue between Madison and Jefferson. 

A front view of the crow statue, Sakura Hanami reveals pale pink cherry blossoms against a pale blue sky.
Detail of the paintings on the back of Sakura Hanami include street lamps, the Steel Bridge, and American flags.

Nearby favorites: While here, you might want to grap a picture of the Portlandia sculpture. No, not Portlandia the TV Show; this Portlandia is based on the 1878 Portland city seal which features Lady Commerce. Get the full details here.

As the Crow Flies

Artist: Jordan Mason

Sponsor: Friends of the Multnomah County Library
The artist uses the crow's three dimensional space to line out a topographical map in white on a black back ground with blue details for rivers and lakes.

One of the more imaginative uses of the crow sculpture, the artist uses the three dimensional shape to paint white lines of a topgraphical map, blue rivers and lakes running in between the slopes, shining against a deep black background. This sculpture has the most realistic eye of them all thus far and it seemed to follow me no matter the angle I shot the photo from. Take note… there are images to be found so look carefully!

Notes:  The app literally places this sculpture inside the library. It actually stands outside on the corner of SW Yamhill and SW 10th Avenue.

From the front, a close-up of As the Crow Flies shows a turquoise blue river flowing down its right side.
The back of As the Crow Flies might be mistaken for feathers from a distance but is actually a detailed topographical map.

Nearby favorites: Love to shop used? Don’t miss the Goodwill on 10th Boutique. Also, our one of our favorite brunch spots is about a block away, The Daily Feast.

Mirrorball Messenger

Artist: Isi Matasavage

Sponsor: LAIKA
A crow sculpture painted in silver with dark gray squares lined up like tiles on a disco ball.

Rows of dark gray squares against a silver background make up the simple lines of the Mirrorball Messenger. The pale colors allow the sculpture beneath the paint to shine, the plumage of the crow standing out, edges shadowed in the gentle light. Perhaps in full sun, it will shine like the discoball it is painted to look like. 

Notes: Located on the backside of the Darcelle XV Plaza. I forgot to take a shot of this birds back but it looks a lot like its front. 

Mirroball Messenger, a crow sculpture in Darcelle XV Plaza, a colorful rainbow mural in the background.
The Mirroball Messenger is painted to resemble a disco ball in homage to the namesake of the plaza where it stands, Darcelle XV

Nearby favorites: You must visit the absolute best clothing-forward thrift shop in Portland, Shirtenpantz. I have yet to walk out without a find.

The Shape of Us

Artist: Tristan “TK” Irving

Sponsor: Oregon Film | William & Fran McKay
Bold patterns outlined in white and painted in bright colors worthy of a child's first box of crayons, the Shape of Us crow sculpture stands across the street from Powell's Books.

Bold white lines, bold geometric shapes, bright colors. This crow has a lot going on. I loved the dual nature of this crow because, when photographed from opposite sides, it almost looks like two different creatures. 

Notes: Easy to find across the street from Powell’s on W Burnside and SW 9th Avenue… the app was almost spot on but does show it kitty corner to Powells.

The Shape of Us sculpture is painted in blocks of hot pink, lime green, sky blue, turquoise, sunflower yellow and more.
The back side of the Shape of Us crow sculpture shows triangular shapes of color spilling down the bird's back and tail.

Nearby favorites: It almost goes without saying, Powell’s City of Books. But also Doc Martens for boots and shoes and a tiny bookstore only a block of way for poetry and literature lovers, Word Virus Books.

Paul Birdyan

Artist: Michael Buchino

Sponsor: Travel Portland
A Paul Bunyan inspired crow, painted black but wearing red and white checkes and blue pants.

An almost typically black crow, but wearing red and white checks and bright blue workpants like Paul Bunyan. The artist chose to honor the birds feathers, painting around many of them to give him more depth and realism. I also love that he has a splash of blue paint across his beak, like he inserted himself into the paint can, as only a curious crow might do.

Notes: The app says it is out for repairs. It was alive and well on the day we visited. I also have to visit again as I failed to walk around the other side. What if he’s painted differently!

A profile view of Paul Birdyan, a sculpture on the Follow the Crows trail in Portland, Oregon
Paul Birdyan stands just across the street in view of McMenamins Crystal Hotel

Nearby favorites: For the simplest Thai food menu you will ever see, Nong’s Khao Man Gai. But when your signature dish is the best ever, why offer other dishes? 

This list will grow! Check back to see more crows from the Wildwood Follow the Crows trail in Portland, Oregon.