Nov. 20, 2021; clear skies after dark, wind SE 5MPH, temp at 40F; sunset time 4:17PM
Out on later Crow Patrol to confirm recent observations that the roost has consolidated again into one single location east of Rt. 495 O’Reilly Bridge. Views from south side of the Merrimack River starting at 1.5 hours after sunset with over 4,000 Crows well settled into the overnight roost and vocalizations at a minimum. This image was captured about 1.5 hours after sunset time.
The Crows were perched in trees along the north side of the river from the bridge and to the east stretching about 175 yards along the shore, and back up to the highway offramp. This image was captured a few minutes later and shows a section of the overnight roost to the left of the Prospect Hill water tower. The Crows tend to be perched in the upper two thirds of the tree canopy with numerous tight clusters.
This image was captured a few minutes later and shows a section of the overnight roost to the right of the Prospect Hill water tower. The Crows tend to be perched in the upper third level of the tree canopy as the roost spreads out and thins out to the east of the highway. Great looks after dark with night vision gear!
Note on counts/estimates: we are now using much improved methods for counting the large number of Crows while streaming, staging, and in the roost. For all images, we use both a modified open source software program, as well as a hand count approach to carefully document our observations and to increase reliability and accuracy of the presented numbers.
THE 2020 NATIONAL AUDUBON CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT (CBC) ESTIMATE FOR THIS CROW ROOST: 15,200
Check out the newly launched Crow Patrol Podcast: wintercrowroost.com/podcast/
Photo gear used for this outing:
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 1DX MK II with Canon EF Telephoto Zoom 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
ATN BinoX 4K Smart HD Binoculars with photo/video
Follow us on Instagram: wintercrowroost
Follow us on YouTube: birdsoftheair1
Blog post and photos by Craig Gibson, 2021 Crow Patrol