Linda’s For the Birds: Chasing Crossbills


Male White-winged Crossbill.
All photos by Susan Puder © 2011

by Linda Gangi

I’m not one to run all over the state looking for one particular species, but when I heard that White-winged and Red Crossbills were being seen at Seven Presidents Park in Long Branch, only 45-60 minutes away, I couldn’t resist.  Crossbills are an irruption year bird, coming south when their food source in the north fails.  For quite some time I’d been reading postings on the Jersey Birds listserv about these birds and I finally couldn’t take it anymore.  A few years ago these birds came down from the north looking for a good cone seed crop and I never did see one.  After discussing the birds with Sue Puder one night, we determined that now was the time, years could go by before they visited again.

The morning of the trip was cold and overcast, not exactly great birding weather and certainly not great conditions for taking photographs, but you have to play the hand you are dealt and make the best of it.  Usually when looking for such well publicized birds you can rely on a crowd, it certainly makes finding the birds easier. This morning we were among the first to arrive but a nice gentlemen informed us that the birds were feeding on the ground by the entrance.  We headed back that way, parked the car and set out on foot.


Male Red Crossbill.

It didn’t take long before we spotted them across the field under a pine tree.  Making our way there in a few minutes we were delighted to find five or six White-winged Crossbills on the ground hugging pine cones, their specialized beaks prying out seeds.  It was amazing how well camouflaged they were, the more you looked the more you found.  Sue set upon taking pictures and as I watched her and the crossbills, I realized that the tree above them was alive with Red-breasted Nuthatches, one of my favorite birds; I was in heaven, no other way to explain it really.


Female White-winged Crossbill.

It wasn’t long before other birders started to show up and other birds also.  As we all stood around looking at and photographing these particularly tame White-winged Crossbills, whose numbers had grown to seven or eight, two Red Crossbills flew into the tree above us.  While the White-winged Crossbills didn’t appear to have any fear of us and at times were on the ground only a few feet away, the Red Crossbills seemed a bit more timid, remaining in the trees,  but to our delight singing at times, making our experience all the more special. 


A crowd watching the Crossbills.
 
At one point, there was a crowd of 15-20 birders/photographers, all reveling in the beauty of these creatures.  Some used this time to catch up with those they hadn’t seen for a while, others exchanged bird stories, some new acquaintances were made and some of us just tried to stay warm.  All in all it was a great birding day, and to our delight the photographs taken came out quite well, the sun never did come out and the temperature never rose above 25 degrees, but we didn’t care, we all were having a splendid time.

If you’d like to know where the birds are being seen in New Jersey visit: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NJBD.html

Linda Gangi is an avid birder, environmentalist, and nature lover. She belongs to the Southern Ocean Birding Group, Atlantic Audubon, and New Jersey Audubon.

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Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 1/24/2011 11:00 AM
Categories: Linda's For the Birds
Tags: crossbills white winged crossbills red crossbills Seven Presidents Park red breasted nuthatch
 

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