Crow Patrol

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 [...]

Crow Counting Quiz #1! One aspect of this Crow roosting phenomenon is counting the large number of crows using the roost. By obtaining accurate and reliable numbers, biologists can better track changes in the size of winter crow populations, follow the timing and extent of winter migration, pin down specific roost locations each winter and over time, [...]

Nov. 10, 2021: clear skies, wind NW 8 MPH, temp 54F; sunset time 4:26PM Out on Crow Patrol after dark with first stop on north side of Merrimack River on both side of Mill240 building to observe Crows already settled in the roost. More than 125 Crows in this image, were perched in trees to the west of the [...]