Immaculately Conceived

Watch the silent video below—shot at the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Lawrence, MA—and you’ll see why Professor Dennis Hlynsky 74 FAV remains fascinated by and focused on filming birds. During his sabbatical this academic year, he has been videotaping the winter crow roost in Lawrence—now estimated at about 25,000 birds—understandably mesmerized by the way they fly.

By observing their daily habits, Hlynsky knows that “in the morning the crows forage. Each evening they fly into the city from a 50-mile radius and roost on buildings and in the trees along the Merrimack River. The crows start gathering in dribs and drabs around 3:30 pm… taking off in numbers to roost around 4:15. It’s quite a sight!”

Murders and Other Flying Things, an exhibition of Hlynsky’s crow-focused video and still images, opens on Friday, January 11 at the Essex Art Center in Lawrence, where it remains on view through March 15.