[Maine-birds] Fwd: Lawrece Winter Crow Roost Numbers

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Dana Fox <dana.fox1939@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Dec 20, 2020 at 9:31 AM
Subject: Lawrece Winter Crow Roost Numbers
To: <massbird@theworld.com>

Amazingly, last night (December 19)  Bob (my husband Bob Fox) and I went to count the crows in the Lawrence, MA winter roost for the Andover CBC. 

First of all, as you know from previous posts, the crows strike a different pattern for their final staging and roosting each night. We had already searched for them along Market St. and looked west from  So. Canal St. This is where we had last seen thousands coming in from the NE, west and SW and finally staging on the roofs of the flat buildings on the south side of Merrimack St.

We saw a few going over us and heading further east over Merrimack St. so we turned around and went into the Savatore's restaurant parking area and went west of that to the river's edge. Some Fish Crows were there on the open pavement, many crows were gathering in the trees along the south and then the north side of the river - maybe a couple of thousand when we drove back to the New Balance Parking Lot. We parked in the New Balance parking lot on the east side of So. Union St.just south of the Merrimack River right in the upper most part.

Now he walked out on the west side of the So. Union St. "Duck" Bridge while I stayed in the car parked in the NW corner of the parking lot where I could see a wide open swatch that the birds would hopefully pass through as they went up over the bridge going from east to west heading into the roost which begins to the west of this bridge.

Bob is the "official" counter at this roost but for some reason tonight I sucked up and started to count.

Suddenly an endless stream (and I mean endless) of crows came from the west over the river, up over the bridge and they joined the crows we had just seen mostly on the south side of the river. It was well past sunset - they were "late" and it was getting dark.   

Well, after it got too dark to see any more, I became fascinated  as you can imagine in his totals. Believe it or not -  he had 24,200 and I had 24.500. A 300 bird difference. Can you believe it? I also had 1,000 more along the south side of the river before it got too dark to see any more moving  that he did not see. So on a night when they follow this pattern, you can either be on the bridge or in the parking lot and see all of the crows.

Also, numbers have grown since we counted 18,000 a week ago.

During this Covid pandemic, you can safely stay in your car and not even be exposed to anyone or go out of your car with a mask and see the crows.

Stay safe and come see the amazing show. When you wish to come please email me at dana.fox1939@gmail.com to get the latest info on where they have been staging and roosting.

Cheers,

Dana

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