The Crow Patrol

In this fascinating conversation, John shares about his work as a journalist over the past 25 years, his love of rivers and coastal waterways, and his fascination with conservation and ecology issues. John fills in background about the mission and history of the Merrimack River Watershed Council, the growing number of communities served and membership outreach programs. John goes into detail about his initial reactions to the local Winter Crow roost, his role in organizing a  number of recent Crow Patrol talks and walks, and the very enthusiastic reaction from members and friends.EPISODE CONTRIBUTORS John Macone, Policy & Education Specialist, Merrimack River Watershed CouncilJohn Macone joined the MRWC in November 2017. He spent 25 years working as a journalist, most recently as editor of the Daily News of Newburyport. Having grown up along the Maine and Massachusetts coast, he’s long had a fascination with the ecology of local rivers and coastlines. In 2009 he won a national award from the Inland Press Association for an eight-part series on erosion issues facing Plum Island and Salisbury Beach. Prior to working at the Daily News, John was a reporter, and later city editor, at The Eagle-Tribune, where he covered the New Hampshire presidential primaries, the New Hampshire Statehouse, and the Massachusetts Statehouse. He has also worked as a park ranger for the National Park Service and the State of Maine and authored three books on greater Newburyport’s history. John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American history from Union College. He operates a small organic farm in Amesbury and enjoys boating and fishing along the Merrimack and the local coast. Craig Gibson is a bird conservation photographer. His current focus is on expanding awareness about the Winter Crow Roost located in Lawrence, MA. Craig has well over 325 documented observation nights tracking and documenting this crow roost. He leads many group tours and has made numerous presentations and talks. Craig designed and launched a blog and this podcast about the Winter Crow Roost and continues to oversee all editorial content. He has also been the lead on initiating and coordinating a range of activities and events with local arts, education, and community groups as well as working with a growing number of conservation and environmental organizations. He wrote and published a comprehensive 14-page report to recap the 2018-2019 winter season, a comprehensive guide about roost photography at night and a new guide on methods for counting crows in a winter roost. His efforts have raised much greater awareness about the Winter Crow Roost in Lawrence, MA, and he has been a catalyst for a range of new community science initiatives. 

In this fascinating conversation, Sylvia shared about her early fascination with animal and plant behaviors, and her initial interest in birds and birding. She shared details about her academic work from undergraduate days in Cambridge, MA to receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She shared how she became interested in animal behavior, ornithology, biology, and ecology. She went into details on her interest in how birds use their vocal repertoires, and background on her excellent guide about recording and analyzing bird vocalizations. Finally, she opened up about her fascination with winter crow roosts and her continuing involvement in counting crows as part of the local Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Sylvia Halkin, Professor of Biology at Central Connecticut State University, is a field biologist whose research has mainly focused on animal behavior.  She has studied how birds use their vocal repertoires in communication, winter ground-roosting behavior of American Crows, and the surprising diversity of ways in which Eastern Gray Squirrels protect the nuts they find and store from being taken by competitors. She has also published articles with CCSU undergraduate and Masters students on the relationship between strangler figs and their host trees, avian foraging niche separation, and sources of disturbance at tern nesting colonies, and is a co-author of the Birds of the World species account for Northern Cardinals, a comprehensive review of the published scientific research on this well-known species. She has taught courses in ornithology, animal behavior, introductory biology, and ecology, including field biology courses in interdisciplinary course abroad programs in Ireland, England, Australia, and India.Craig Gibson is a bird conservation photographer. His current focus is on expanding awareness about the Winter Crow Roost located in Lawrence, MA. Craig has well over 325 documented observation nights tracking and documenting this crow roost. He leads many group tours and has made numerous presentations and talks. Craig designed and launched a blog and this podcast about the Winter Crow Roost and continues to oversee all editorial content. He has also been the lead on initiating and coordinating a range of activities and events with local arts, education, and community groups as well as working with a growing number of conservation and environmental organizations. He wrote and published a comprehensive 14-page report to recap the 2018-2019 winter season, a comprehensive guide about roost photography at night and a new guide on methods for counting crows in a winter roost. His efforts have raised much greater awareness about the Winter Crow Roost in Lawrence, MA, and he has been a catalyst for a range of new community science initiatives.

We explored John’s amazing background with first becoming interested in birds, and then on to ecology, natural history, and evolution. John shared insights on pursuing his Ph.D. and quickly becoming  a full professor in biology at Wheaton College. John discussed his leadership roles with many major birding associations and ornithological groups, including the American Birding Association, Association of Field Ornithologists, Wilson Ornithological Society, and the Nuttall Ornithological Club. Finally he went into details on how the idea of a book about bird behavior became a reality, and was recently published as part of the well known Petersen Reference Guide series. John shares his thoughts on overall bird behaviors and then details around the remarkable dynamics and interactions of Crows in the midst of communal winter roosts.JOHN KRICHER is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Wheaton College, Norton, MA, where for 48 years he taught ecology, ornithology, and vertebrate evolution. He is a Fellow in the American Ornithologists Union and is past president of the Association of Field Ornithologists, the Wilson Ornithological Society, and the Nuttall Ornithological Club. He has served on the board of the American Birding Association.CRAIG GIBSON is a bird conservation photographer. His current focus is on expanding awareness about the Winter Crow Roost located in Lawrence, MA. Craig has well over 300 documented observation nights tracking and documenting this crow roost. He leads many group tours and has made numerous presentations and talks. Craig designed and launched a blog and this podcast about the Winter Crow Roost and continues to oversee all editorial content. He has also been the lead on initiating and coordinating a range of activities and events with local arts, education, and community groups as well as working with a growing number of conservation and environmental organizations. He wrote and published a comprehensive 14-page report to recap the 2018-2019 winter season, and a comprehensive guide about roost photography at night. His efforts have raised much greater awareness about the Winter Crow Roost in Lawrence, MA, and he has been a catalyst for a range of new community science initiatives. 

We explored how Christian became interested in birds; how he developed a specific interest in New Caledonian Crows; other tropical birds; Crows using tools for foraging; the new research station; reflections on time  as a Grass Fellow at Radcliffe College; his visit to the Crow Roost in Lawrence, MA; using telemetry devices; his  leadership for the International Bio-Logging Society; his new research paper, and more! Prof. Christian Rutz Christian Rutz is a professor of biology at the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, where he leads a research group studying animal tool behavior. He combines observational, experimental, and theoretical approaches to address a major scientific puzzle: Why do so few animal species use tools, and how have humans become so technology savvy? Rutz probes the evolutionary origins of tool behavior with an innovative research strategy. Rather than studying our primate cousins, he investigates tropical crows that have the curious habit of using foraging tools. His principal study species, the renowned New Caledonian crow, fashions complex tool designs from a variety of plant materials and may even refine its technology over time. Rutz recently discovered that the critically endangered Hawaiian crow is also a skilled tool user, opening up exciting opportunities for comparative research. During a recent sabbatical leave, as a Grass Fellow at Radcliffe College, Rutz was pursuing a range of interrelated objectives on the tool behavior of New Caledonian and Hawaiian crows, exploring the biological processes that allow rudimentary technologies to arise, advance, and diversify. Rutz obtained his doctorate as a Rhodes Scholar from the University of Oxford, was subsequently awarded a prestigious David Phillips Fellowship, and held visiting appointments at the Universities of Oxford, Tokyo, and New South Wales. His research is regularly published in leading interdisciplinary journals, including Nature and Science, has attracted a string of academic prizes, and has been showcased at major public science exhibitions. Rutz has pioneered cutting-edge wildlife tracking technologies and serves as the founding president of the International Bio-Logging Society. Craig Gibson Craig is a bird conservation photographer. His current focus is on expanding awareness about the Winter Crow Roost located in Lawrence, MA. Craig has well over 300 documented observation nights tracking and documenting this crow roost. He leads many group tours and has made numerous presentations and talks. Craig designed and launched a blog and this podcast about the Winter Crow Roost and continues to oversee all editorial content. He has also been the lead on initiating and coordinating a range of activities and events with local arts, education, and community groups as well as working with a growing number of conservation and environmental organizations. He wrote and published a comprehensive 14-page report to recap the 2018-2019 winter season, and a comprehensive guide about roost photography at night. His efforts have raised much greater awareness about the Winter Crow Roost in Lawrence, MA, and he has been a catalyst for a range of new community science initiatives. 

Contributors: Brian Harrington  Brian Harrington, founder of the International Shorebird Survey and an emeritus scientist at Manomet, recently joined the Manomet Board of Trustees. Brian began working at Manomet (then the Manomet Bird Observatory) in 1972. Until his retirement in 2007, Harrington focused on conservation issues associated with the long, nonstop migrations of many kinds of shorebirds, particularly the Red Knot. In 1996, he authored the popular book, “The Flight of the Red Knot,” and continues his work with knots and shorebird conservation to this day.  Currently, Harrington serves as an advisor to the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, a science-based, partnership-driven conservation initiative for protecting the ecological integrity of critical habitats for shorebirds throughout the Americas. He is also a co-leader of the South Shore and Upper Cape Chapter of the Citizens’ Climate lobby and a Trustee of the Wildlands Trust. Previously, Brian served as President of The Herring Ponds Watershed Association in Plymouth, which he founded.  Craig Gibson  Craig is a bird conservation photographer. His current focus is on expanding awareness about the Winter Crow Roost located in Lawrence, MA. Craig has well over 300 documented observation nights tracking and documenting this crow roost. He leads many group tours and has made numerous presentations and talks. Craig designed and launched a blog and this podcast about the Winter Crow Roost and continues to oversee all editorial content. He has also been the lead on initiating and coordinating a range of activities and events with local arts, education, and community groups as well as working with a growing number of conservation and environmental organizations. He wrote and published a comprehensive 14-page report to recap the 2018-2019 winter season, and a comprehensive guide about roost photography at night. His efforts have raised much greater awareness about the Winter Crow Roost in Lawrence, MA, and he has been a catalyst for a range of new community science initiatives. 

In this episode, we heard about Prof. Marzluff’s research and academic work during the pandemic. He also shared news on the launch of his new citizen scientist app for young people. We discussed the many facets of a winter crow roost: how large they can be, staging and flying to the overnight roost, Crow family social dynamics, roosts as information centers, the deafening vocalizations around an overnight roost, and then approached to counting crows in a roost!-----John Marzluff, Ph.D., is the James W. Ridgeway Professor of Wildlife Science at the University of Washington. His research has been the focus of articles in the New York Times, National Geographic, Audubon, Boys Life, The Seattle Times,and National Wildlife. PBS’s NATURE featured his raven research in its production, “Ravens,” and his crow research in the film documentary, “A Murder of Crows”. His graduate and initial post-doctoral research focused on the social behavior and ecology of jays and ravens. He was especially interested in communication, social organization, and foraging behavior. His current research brings this behavioral approach to pressing conservation issues including raptor management, management of pest species, and assessment of nest predation.His book, In the Company of Crows and Ravens (with Tony Angell, 2005 Yale U. Press) blends biology, conservation, and anthropology to suggest that human and crow cultures have co-evolved. This book won the 2006 Washington State Book Award for general nonfiction. With his wife, Colleen, he has published Dog Days, Raven Nights (2011 Yale University Press), which combines reflection with biology and the recreational pursuit of dog sledding to show how a life in science blooms. Gifts of the Crow (2012 Free Press) applies a neurobiological perspective to understand the amazing feats of corvids. He is a member of the board of editors forActa Ornithologica, Landscape Ecology and Ecological Applications. Currently leader of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Recovery Team for the critically endangered Mariana Crow, he is also a Fellow of the American Ornithologist’s Union. 

After learning about Prof. Clark’s background and academic work, we had a chance to dive into details around winter Crow roost and strategies for accurate counting of the Crows. Prof Clark shared her methodologies for counting in blocks, preferred times for making counts, the relevance around orders of magnitude, using photography, having counting team members in place, vantage points, and recording tools for documenting purposes. Anne Clark:  a behavioral ecologist broadly interested in the evolution and ecology of animal social behavior. In addition to other research, she has spent time over the last 20 years, researching the social ecology of American crows in suburban Ithaca, NY. Ongoing studies with her wonderful grad and undergrad students include genetics, communication, learning and personality. The advent of West Nile Virus in our long-term study population of crows has added a focus on social and demographic effects of injury and disease for me, my collaborator, Dr. KJ McGowan (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), and former students Dr. D. Robinson (Mount St. Mary's College) and Dr. A. Townsend (Hamilton College).  Her current students have extended crow research to new species:  Fish Crows, Mariana Crows and Large-billed Jungle Crows.  At Binghamton University, I teach classes in “Animal Behavior”, “Primate Behavioral Ecology” and “Behavior and Disease” plus diverse graduate seminars. 

Kevin McGowan, Ph.D., is an extension associate at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Co-editor of the second New York State Breeding Bird Atlas, past President and former webmaster for the New York State Ornithological Association, and a FORMER member of the New York State Avian Records Committee (NYSARC). McGowan is an international authority on the crow family, and has done extensive research in social development, family structure, and West Nile virus transmission within avian populations, especially the American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). His main research concerns reproductive and social behavior of American Crows, as well as Fish Crows (Corvus ossifragus) in the Ithaca area.   Dr. McGowan received a B.S. in Zoology from the Ohio State University in 1977, and an M.S. in Zoology from Ohio State in 1980 for a thesis on small mammals and their use of arthropods on reclaimed strip-mines. He then went to the University of South Florida where he received a Ph.D. in Biology in 1987 for work on the social development of young Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens). McGowan was one of the creators of the All About Birds website and currently creates online courses about birds at Bird Academy. 

Visit Winter Crow Roost for more information.

Visit Winter Crow Roost for more information.