Subject: Out of place Red Crossbill
Date: Mar 20 22:35:34 1998
From: "S. Downes" - sdownes at u.washington.edu


Tweets,
I was tending to my bonsai on the deck this afternoon, and heard and a
bird rustling around in the almost ripe pine cones of apartment grounds
next to our deck. I looked up and a male Crossbill was trying to extract
the seeds that were a bit premature.Not a normal food source anyhow
(Ornamental pine species). I wondered what could possess a Red
Crossbill to try a get premature seeds out of what are the only trees with
cones for about a block (and even at that only about twenty feet tall). Strange.
Can't seem to manage to coax a Rufous hummer to our feeder yet two small
pine trees attract a Red Crossbill, go figure. This is across the street
from Bitter Lake if anybody is interested.

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA