Dec. 22, 2025 under clear skies, wind W 6MPH, temp 30f, sunset time 4:14PM

A cold evening along South Canal Street brought steady incoming flight streams and classic late-stage winter roost behavior across rooftops, trees, and the National Grid substation. Crows gathered in final staging mode on the roof of the old B&D warehouse on the south side of Merrimack Street. This spot continues to serve as a reliable late-stage staging area, with birds lining roof edges and clustering tightly before moving on toward the overnight roost.

Numbers increased rapidly inside the National Grid substation, where crows covered the dirt ground and perched on transformers, circuit breakers, and other switchgear. The substation once again became a major focal point, visually packed with birds at multiple levels.

Arriving crows also used riverside trees west of the main roost area and the rooftop of the brick building within the substation. Both locations are typical late-stage perch sites and were heavily utilized as arrivals continued.

As darkness approached, large numbers poured into the overnight roost trees in front of the New Balance building. Low-light camera settings and ambient building lighting made the rapidly increasing density of birds clearly visible.

Once night settled in, thermal imaging provided outstanding contrast. Using the Iron Red color palette, warm crows appeared as bright yellows, oranges, and reds against the cooler trees and ground, making the packed roost stand out clearly in the darkness.

For the 2025 National Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for the Andover Circle (MAAN), the dedicated crow roost count totaled 14,025 crows, including both American Crows and Fish Crows. By comparison, the Andover Circle crow count was 12,550 in 2024 and 11,600 in 2023. Many thanks to Mark Morroni and Donna Cooper, who coordinated and compiled the Andover Circle CBC this year. Craig serves as the designated sector leader for the Lawrence winter crow roost count.

The counting methods developed by the Crow Patrol for the Lawrence roost were formally reviewed and approved in January 2021 following a detailed evaluation of field notes, images, and group discussion with Wayne Petersen, New England Regional Editor for the CBC, with full support from Geoff LeBaron, National Director of the CBC, and Donna Cooper as local compiler. After this comprehensive review, the 2020 CBC American Crow count was finalized at 15,200, a figure fully supported by field documentation and consistent with long-term observations by experienced local birders.

Building on guidance from the National CBC leadership, we now use enhanced, field-based counting methods tailored to large winter crow roosts. These include multiple direct block counts of birds in flight, during staging, and once perched, conducted entirely on foot around the roost. Counts are later cross-checked using still images and video, supported by modified open-source counting software. This multi-layered approach significantly improves accuracy and repeatability. A detailed overview of these methods is available in the Winter Crow Roost Counting Guide (PDF) on the main page.

All images are captured using professional low-light mirrorless camera systems and fast-aperture lenses, allowing for reliable documentation under the very challenging lighting conditions at dusk and after dark typical of winter crow roosts.