Beautiful lighting on a flock of Red Crossbills at the yard pond this
a.m.!!! Thought I was hearing Evening Grosbeaks earlier this morning, when
out for the paper. Later noticed large birds, yet smaller than the
Starlings, dropping down from the tops of the fir trees, limb-by-limb. Too
much red for finches, I thought. Yep, with bino's, found red back, red head
and red breast and belly. The accompanying females were umber! -- Uh, a
golden-brown maybe. Very attractive! Crossed-beak, but not really
obvious, as on some birds -we had to look hard to pick it out, but it was
there. No wing-bars. Not a view like this since Easter of 1979 when we had
them eating seed heads of dandelions in our yard in Longview. And you
wondered about all those dandelions in my yard!
At Battle Ground Lake State Park, two days ago, we'd heard a similar
calling and I decided I was hearing Evening Grosbeaks then also. Likely,
NOT, now that I've heard this. Must have been a good cone crop locally last
year, and not just in our fringe of dougfir.
John & Loraine Allinger
Hockinson, Clark Co., Washington
Elevation: 500 feet / 160 meters
Latitude: _45_45_N
Longitude: _122_30_W
< jonymike at pacifier.com >