Winter Crow Roost - Meeting held at the Robb Center

Craig Gibson is a well known bird and conservation photographer. His ongoing focus is on expanding awareness about the Winter Crow Roost in Lawrence, MA, the extended Merrimack Valley area, and Eastern Massachusetts. Craig designed and launched the blog 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 roost photography guide, and a roost counting guide. Overall, his efforts have raised much greater awareness of the Winter Crow Roost, and he has been a catalyst for a range of new community science initiatives.

In the fall 2017, after tracking the roost since 2010, Craig worked together in close collaboration with other local birders to form the Crow Patrol in the Lawrence area. Over the past seven winter seasons, he has personally documented more than 425 observation nights, while monitoring, documenting, and photographing the overnight staging and roosting of American and Fish Crows. Craig has made over 350 Crow Roost specific postings to eBird, an especially important data portal for open access citizen science projects around the globe. As an active birding videographer, Craig was invited in January 2024 to participate in video upload privileges for his eBird account.

Craig worked closely with staff and leadership at the Essex Art Center in Lawrence, MA to create the “Celebrating the Winter Crow Roost” art exhibit in 2019. The exhibit was a big success with record turnouts and lots of media coverage. The EAC hosted the exhibit for a second year in 2020, with an expanded group of participating artists. He worked closely with staff at El Taller Cafe and Bookstore in Lawrence, MA for a Crow-themed art exhibit that opened in February 2020 and received great acclaim. In an effort to help other bird and wildlife photographers, he wrote and published the “Winter Crow Roost Photography Guide” in late 2020.