I wrote to Julie with this information earlier, but I wanted to add that
we did see a flock of 30 Red Crossbills at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma
during the CBC for Tahoma Audubon on Dec. 16. This was the largest flock
seen in that part of Tacoma in quite a few years on the local CBC, but
its possible that the birds in the area were gathered in a larger flock
since the CBC was held on the day after the wind storm last month.

Although we heard and saw small numbers of crossbills at various
locations in the park during the CBC, the whole flock was conveniently
gathered near some cedar trees along the road at the back of the parking
lot for the Point Defiance Zoo at the end of our walk through the park
on Dec. 16. I haven't had a chance to check the area again since the
CBC, but there is a good possibility that at least some of the
crossbills are still in the area.

Rob McNair-Huff ---------- Tacoma, WA
Author of Washington Disasters (Globe Pequot, 2006), Birding Washington
(Falcon Publishing, 2004)
and Insider's Guide to the Olympic Peninsula (Globe Pequot, 2001)
Mac Net Journal ---------- http://www.macnetjournal.com

Support your local Audubon chapter
www.tahomaaudubon.org

>Dennis:
>
>We missed 'em on the Everett-Marysville CBC, but just east of the count
>circle we've got a regular flock of 25 or so Red Crossbills here at the
>place in n. Lake Stevens since about late October (they had been absent in
>the previous six months or so), the birds associated with the crowns of tall
>W. Red-Cedar. They were pretty much absent around Sequim during the same
>period, but our WDR party (west of Dungeness River, just north of 101) found
>12 on the Sequim-Dungeness CBC Dec 18. So I think foothill or mid-montane
>coniferous habitat near here or over there should produce a few, but this is
>definitely not an "up" period for the species locally.
>
>Scott Atkinson
>Lake Stevens
>mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com