Crow Patrol

Dec. 23, 2021: clear skies, wind W 10MPH, temp at 30F; sunset time 4:15PM Out on Crow Patrol with initial stops in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery where the Crows are known to use as a smaller staging area. We observed over 300 Crows about 30 minutes before sunset time. The image below was captured after entering Immaculate Conception and [...]

Dec. 21, 2021: clear skies, calm, 36F; sunset time 4:14PM Out on Crow Patrol with initial scouting all around Prospect Hill as Crows were starting to stream in from all directions. This first image was captured right at sunset time. It shows a smaller group of about 75 Crows streaming in towards the staging area. After checking many locations [...]

Dec. 18, 2021: heavy overcast skies, snow, mist, fog, 1/2 mile visibility, calm, 33F; sunset time 4:12PM 2021 CBC Crow Count for the Andover Circle listed below! As Geoff LeBaron, Director of the National Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC), commented on in a recent Massbird email..."Tis the season!" We were out this afternoon under gritty conditions for the 2021 [...]

Great Horned Owl lands in middle of overnight crow roost! During a Crow Patrol outing on Sat. Dec. 11, we placed a small time lapse camera in the tree in the back section of the overnight crow roost. The camera was set up facing south with views of the roost, the Merrimack River below, the tress along [...]

Dec. 12, 2021: clear skies, wind W at 10MPH, 43F; sunset time at 4:11PM Out on Crow Patrol with first stop at the baseball field located on Incinerator Road in Lawrence, by the Essex County Pre-Release Center. Over 500 Crows were seen assembling in the trees to the NE, on the east side of the Merrimack River, and then [...]

The Wildlife Society (TWS) recently hosted its 2021 Conference and extended an invitation to the Crow Patrol to participate! The Wildlife Society’s Annual Conference is one of the largest gatherings of wildlife professionals and supporters in North America. For more than 25 years, TWS has hosted this unique and informative event that provides endless networking opportunities through working groups, [...]

Dec. 4, 2021: clear skies, wind SW 8 MPH, temp at 39F; sunset time 4:11PM Out on Crow Patrol along the south side of the mighty Merrimack River behind the dance studio. Crows seen streaming in overhead from the west, along with large numbers assembling and staging in trees along the south shore line on the west side of [...]

Nov. 20, 2021; clear skies after dark, wind SE 5MPH, temp at 40F; sunset time 4:17PM Out on later Crow Patrol to confirm recent observations that the roost has consolidated again into one single location east of Rt. 495 O'Reilly Bridge. Views from south side of the Merrimack River starting at 1.5 hours after sunset with over 4,000 Crows [...]

Crows in the roost after dark! Mon. Nov. 15, 2021: mostly cloudy, wind W at 10MPH, 42F, sunset time 4:21PM Out on Crow Patrol and scouting out staging locations along Sutton Street in North Andover all the way up to the airport. Over 550 Crows are seen in this image below gathering in the western section of [...]

Crows settling in and then after dark! Nov. 14, 2021: overcast skies, wind SW 6MPH, temp at 47F; sunset time 4:22PM Out on Crow Patrol with initial scouting stops all along Sutton Street in North Andover while looking for Crow concentrations in staging areas. Only found small gatherings of Crows, including a group on the west side [...]