Twilight Flight Bursts!

Sat. Sept 30, 2023: under overcast skies, wind NE 5MPH, temp 57F; sunset time 6:28PM

Out on Crow Patrol with numbers growing each week. Initial observations from parking garage rooftop with large numbers arriving and staging on B&D warehouse roof. A local helicopter made a low altitude flyby causing all the Crows to liftoff in chaotic flight frenzy and then settle down minutes later.

Moved over to the nearby Duck Bridge after sunset time and observed incoming flight streams into the roost with loud vocalizations. The trees are still covered with leaves, so the Crows seem to drop into the trees and a bit out of sight. As the roost filled up in the midst of incoming flight streams, there were numerous flight bursts out over the Merrimack River. Always very enjoyable to watch these bursts in action.

At almost 60 minutes after sunset time, captured a few images with a dedicated infrared camera using all manual settings. Shooting nighttime cityscape images with an infrared (IR) camera presents a unique set of challenges compared to using a conventional visible light camera. The biggest challenges in shooting night time cityscape images with an infrared camera include: low light sensitivity, focus issues, long exposure settings, IR hotspots, composition and framing issues, and maintaining stability on a busy city bridge with a tripod and delayed shutter release. Despite these challenges, shooting nighttime cityscapes with an infrared camera can produce unique and striking results that showcase the roost’s hidden beauty in a different light! This infrared image was captured at almost 60 minutes after sunset time. This is an exciting start of the seasonal buildup for the Lawrence overnight winter crow roost!

Remember to check out the latest Crow Patrol Podcast with John Macone (Merrimack River Watershed Council): wintercrowroost.com/podcast/

Photo gear used for most outings:

Canon EOS 80D with Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS 

Canon EOS 80D with Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (Infrared)     

Canon EOS R6 Mirrorless with Canon RF 28-70 f/2 L IS USM 

Canon EOS R6 II Mirrorless with Canon RF 50 f/1.2 L USM 

Sony AX700 4K HDR Camcorder

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