[Maine-birds] The Lawrence Winter Crows have left the New Balance Roost

Contact me for recommendations of where to find them if you are still planning

 to come to Lawrence.

They moved probably Friday night based on reports from an observer who had been out in the past few weeks observing the crows from their most recent final staging areas and definitely Saturday night we and two other observers determined the Lawrence Crows had left the New Balance Roost and roosted that night in Pemberton Park on the north side of the river to the west of the next bridge.  

We have observed these crows on a frequent basis for four winters. The crows moved where they were finally staging and then roosting three times on their own will - December 27, 2017, January 23, 2019 and January 22, 2021. They moved westward all three of those occasions. Why we can not be sure but two factors are obvious - their numbers were very high at that point and in the first two times the Merrimack River had frozen above the big stone dam just to the west of Rt.28.

 The fourth time they moved was November 3, 2020. This may have been due to a group of photographers standing on the S. Union St. bridge for hours with big lenses pointed towards the roost. Crows are deeply disturbed by what they consider as guns based on their persecution in rural roosts and the fact there still is an open season for crow hunting in many states. Bob and I were there that night  then in a small group talking and saw this river of crows come towards us from the east, up over the bridge and around the New Balance building out of sight to never return that winter to the New Balance roost night. The crows were so disturbed for 16 days, many roosting on the ground east of that bridge at night until the 19th of November when they finally chose to roost to the east of Rt.495 in a similar line of trees to the New Balance site also along the Merrimack River.  

The "show" is different, but still very exciting and the drama of finding them each night continues.

Again, let me know if Bob and I can help you.

Dana Duxbury-Fox

North Andover

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