Conditions: partly sunny, wind W at 11MPH with gusts, temp at 39F; sunset time 4:14PM

Out on Crow Patrol for almost 90 minutes with initial stops at regular nearby staging areas and then up to the roof of the McGovern parking garage. We had distant views of St. Patrick Parish and the tall steeple in the background. This image was captured just a few minutes after sunset time.

By ten minutes after sunset time, the Crows had started to gather on the west end of the B&D rooftop. Crows were seen streaming in from SE/S/SW in growing numbers and landing on the rooftop area. Moved down to Merrimack Street for views looking west, and waiting for 4:32 train to depart the station and blow the whistle. As the whistle blew, at 4:32PM, the Crows lifted up and to wards the Merrimack River in large numbers. This image below, showing about 350 Crows in flight, was captured about 18 minutes after sunset time.

A few minutes later, we observed more dramatic flight action over South Canal Street…..spectacular sight!

Then moved over to the Duck Bridge and observed large numbers streaming in from downriver and converging directly into the roost along with the others coming in from the staging area, and other from the west. The action and stunning sunset colors made for another extraordinary outing! This image, looking WSW at the west end corner of the New Balance building was captured about 31 minutes after sunset time.

The final look for the night was from the Duck Bridge looking WSW down the line of overnight roost trees along the New Balance building.  It is always a remarkable sight to see the Crows all settled in and quiet for the night! This image was captured about 50 minutes after sunset time.

To really catch the action, it is so important to be out of the cars and in the wide open, observing, listening and enjoying the entire experience! Per eBird guidelines, count numbers are conservative. Yet another amazing night!

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 4-16x Day and Night Smart HD Binoculars with photo/video

SiOnyx Aurora Pro Digital Color Night Vision Optics

Follow us on Instagram: wintercrowroost

Follow us on YouTube: birdsoftheair1

Blog post and photos by Craig Gibson, 2020 Crow Patrol, Lawrence, MA