Yesterday afternoon we were delighted to be able to show the spectacle of the Lawrence MA Winter Crow Roost off in fine style – albeit being a bit cold.
The afternoon was cold – 29 degrees or so with a light wind but with wonderful sunshine and few clouds in the sky. Folks gathered in the New Balance Parking Lot off of South Union St. just south of the Merrimack River an hour before sunset 3:15 yesterday.
For a while I felt like the fillers on TV or radio before an event. Bob and I have assimilated enough information about crows that it was no effort at all to fill the time until the rivers of crows began. Since it was such a nice day, the crows seemed to have come in a bit later than usual.
At one point, Bob took a group off in our car to watch the show from the west pulling into our favorite viewing spot on the west just over the northwestern side of the Rt. 28 bridge where they were to watch the river of crows from the west.
The others stayed with me and once the first waves of crows broke over the northeastern side of the river over the mill buildings, we moved out onto the “Duck” bridge (South Union St.). It was such fun watching as they approached from the east at first over the water tower hill breaking out over the river to the southside to the west of our bridge. Then the waves kept coming and seemed to move further south before they headed east up the river. Wave upon wave kept pouring into the city over our heads and over the bridge. They were flying quite quietly. Soon we could see a few began to populate the tops of the thin row of leafless trees along the south side of the river to the west of us. The western viewers came and joined us. It continues to amaze.
As it got darker, after sunset which was at 4:15 pm, we all moved in front of the truck depot on So. Canal St. ( a generous name for this hole filled “road”!). Now crows were everywhere – some on the ground in the truck depot, some across the street in a parking lot, many on the roof tops to the south side of Merrimack St. and many in front of us on the old brick buildings to our left. The noise of thousands of crows with their multiple calls in intriguing. Hundreds of Fish Crows, many of the telephone wires, so obvious when you have visited the site so often (yes, you can ask, “do we ever do anything else but watch these crows”. It is a fair question!!! Many of the crows headed towards the trees along the river and with your binoculars helped by lights in buildings across the river you could see the densely packed black bobbles adoring the tops of the trees from left to right. How can they all fit in there?
It was dark now and as we returned to the parking lot, we were just able to see them across the street beginning to fill in the trees. We didn’t walk out on the west side of the Duck Bridge but from there with the dim light in the western sky and the light from the mill buildings you can get a fine look at all of the trees in that narrow band to the west filled often right down to the water with those marvelous birds.
Plan on a visit the next sunny night.
They will surely delight you.
Dana
Dana Duxbury-Fox
North Andover, MA
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