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Every winter at dusk, thousands of crows fill the sky along the Merrimack River and noisily roost in a cluster of trees in Lawrence.
On the next two Wednesdays, Merrimack River Watershed Council helps explain why the crows are there and what are they doing. The two free “Crow Show” programs—one online and one in person—delve into the secrets of this natural phenomenon.
This Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m., local expert Craig Gibson present an online slideshow explaining the crow behavior and the likely explanations for why 20,000 crows fly up to 40 miles nightly to gather together. He will also present information on other winter crow roosts he has researched and visited in North America, some of which are many times larger than the Lawrence roost.
On Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m., Gibson leads a live visit to the crow roost, timed to take place just as thousands of crows begin to arrive and settle into the trees. The location will likely be in the vicinity of Prospect Hill/Lawrence General Hospital. However, the roost location occasionally changes for reasons that only the crows know for sure, and participants will be updated on the roost location on the day of the event.
Required registration takes place online at Merrimack.org/events.