Sherry,

White-winged Crossbills are irregular visitors from the Canadian (Alaskan?)
spruce forests. Like Red Crossbills, White-wings are nomads. When cone
crops of white (Picea glauca) and black (Picea mariana ) spruce are lean or
fail, these birds must take off to new forests in search of suitable cone
crops. Suitable for White-winged Crossbills (from my observations) are
Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), western larch (Larix occidentalis,
tamarack (Larix laricina), or western hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana). There
are probably other soft and small-seeded conifer seeds that these birds
utilize, too.

White-winged Crossbills invariably show up in northernmost Washington
first, usually in July. They move southwards thereafter, even appearing in
the lowlands on both sides of the Cascades by fall. Some years see
impressive "invasions."
One out in the "desert" 31 August 1997 along upper Cold Creek on the Yakima
Training Center was the most out-of-habitat bird seen thus far this season.

Learn the calls (as with all finches), and you'll note more diversity and
numbers of finches and crossbills than if you rely on visual sightings.
Small parties of finches, crossbills or redpolls invariably fly overhead,
calling constantly. All have distinctive call notes (except Hoary from
Common Redpoll).

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA

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> From: SHERRY L HAGEN <SXWB78A at prodigy.com>
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: white-winged crossbill
> Date: Wednesday, September 03, 1997 4:43 PM
>
> While hiking Stevens Pass area on Sept. 1, saw a White-winged
> Crossbill. Is this a normal species for this area? I know they are
> not common over most of the state but I understand they occur in some
> of the northern parts. Where are they usually seen in the state?
> Sherry Hagen, Vancouver, WA sxwb78a at prodigy.com