I'm not sure where you are located, but yes, many birds are starting to molt right now, inlcuding the "American Crow". Other black colored birds (if you have them where you are) include grackles, starlings, and red-winged blackbirds that could be molting right now as well. Hope that helps!

Crows usually molt just after nesting season and before migration, which happens late summer into early fall—so finding feathers around this time is totally possible. That said, if you’re seeing more than just a couple of feathers in one spot, it’s more likely the remains of a crow that was taken by a predator. I’ve seen that happen plenty of times with different birds both on and off my 3.3 acres.

If you decide to collect the feathers, make sure to treat them. The simplest way—something a Native friend shared with me—is to tuck them into Borax for about a month. If you notice mites in the Borax, grab some bird mite treatment to finish the process, and then you’ll be able to use them however you’d like. I’ve done this with owl feathers, an owl wing, morning dove, robin, and raven feathers.

The photo here is the wing just after I found it and placed it into the Borax. If you peek at my MJ, you’ll see the “after” photo in a post I shared. 🙂