Lawrence Winter Crow Roost Becomes Catalyst for Artistic Expression, Community Outreach, and Citizen Science
BIRD OBSERVER Vol. 47, No.6, 2019
By Craig B. Gibson
It’s a phenomenon that rivals a work of art: the winter crow roost in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Winter Crow Roost: delayed arrival into roost?
This video was taken almost 30 minutes after sunset time on a heavy overcast night. The Crows had been staging downriver from the normal overnight roost nearby. They kept launching into flight, swirling around over the river, and returning back to the perches in trees nearby. Conditions: overcast skies, calm, 37F: sunset time at 4:18PM Out on [...]
Winter Crow Roost: morning dispersal!
This a 14 second time lapse video recorded over a 90 minute period of time prior to the moment of sunrise time at 7:13AM. Based on prior observations at this roost location, the Crows typically "wake up" and start to vocalize around 90 minutes before sunrise time. As the skies slowly start to lighten, the Crows begin the [...]
Winter Crow Roost: all calm, some bright lights!
Conditions: clear skies after dark, calm, temp at 28F; sunset time 4:16PM Out on solo Crow Patrol with initial stop along south side of Merrimack River just east of the Rt. 495 Bridge. Parked at end of North Main Street, and hiked very icy path along the edge of river on the south side until finding open views [...]
Winter Crow Roost: days are getting longer!
Conditions: clear skies, setting sun, wind SW 8MPH, 49F, sunset time 4:14PM Out on solo Crow Patrol with first stop along the north side of the Merrimack River at the end of Incinerator Road. Crows started streaming in from all directions and began to perch and vocalize along tree tops on south side of the river, to the [...]
Clever Crows!!
Running with birds: Few of us are clever enough to be crows By Rebecca Pugh - December 8, 2019 When you run on the roads in Ipswich, you are likely to come across crows perched in barren trees. Crows migrate back to familiar places year after year. You may notice them because they perch where they can see the [...]
Winter Crow Roost: crows and sunset sky!
Conditions: clear skies, setting sun, wind W at 13MPH, gusts 23MPH, temp at 19F/wind chill 6F: sunset time 4:12PM at 238˚ WSW. Out on solo Crow Patrol with first stop at end of Incinerator Road in Lawrence, MA. Large grouping of Crows on and around the baseball field and perched in surrounding trees minutes after sunset time. Many [...]
Crow Patrol: a view from under the roost!
Conditions: partly cloudy, wind W 7MPH, 33F: sunset time 4:12PM Out on solo Crow Patrol with only stop at end of Incinerator Rd. in Lawrence. In an effort to mix things up, made my way to the east end of the actual overnight roost area. The Crows were heard, in the distance about 1/4 mile away, as they [...]
Winter Crow Roost: snow, sleet, rain!
Conditions: heavy overcast skies, light snow, sleet, fog; wind W at 10MPH, temp at 29F with wind chill making it feel like 20F! Out on solo Crow Patrol with initial observations along Sutton St. in North Andover. Crows perched in trees along both sides of street from Charles St. up to main entry to Lawrence Municipal Airport. Then, watched [...]
Winter Crow Roost: total chaos into calm!
Conditions: clear skies, wind W 3MPH, 31F, sunset time 4:10PM Out on solo Crow Patrol with first stop along south side of Merrimack River just east of Rt. 495 Bridge. The Crows began appearing and perching in tall trees downriver, on the south side as part of final staging process. They had likely been gathering and staging around the [...]