Scott wrote -
Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1999 18:27:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: "S. Downes" <sdownes at u.washington.edu>

<<<I learned that about two weeks ago a first year male White-winged
Crossbill was caught in a mist net at one of our sites in Redmond. The ID
in the hand is obviously clear to anybody with experience which the person
(my boss) had.
This makes me wonder if we are not due for another invasion year...
snip. >>>>

FYI... White-winged Crossbills, and to a lesser extent Reds, invaded
central and northern BC in June due to heavy conifer cone crops (as per
usual when a wet summer follows a dry one). Numbers are still elevated
but expect they have started sifting southward toward WA by now. Usually
the crossbills are around for 4-6 months during these episodes. It was
a sublime joy on the four Breeding Bird Surveys that I conducted during
the first week o fJuly this year to be constantly serenaded by the
melodious trilling of male WWCRs.

--
Jack Bowling
jbowling at direct.ca