For the past few years during all seasons I have had multiple red crossbills frequent the upper reaches of my fir trees. Last year they found my feeders and came down multiple times every day. I was able to get numerous ultra close-up photos of them on the branches above my feeder, this while standing on my deck. This year they have been coming in in smaller numbers but several times a day. Last week I heard a group feeding at the top of a fir tree in my front yard and decided to check them out with my binoculars (I usually don't bother because they are so common). To my great surprise there was a female white-winged crossbill in the group! It was so high that pictures would have been futile and I couldn't entice them lower with my ipod. Now I spend countless hours watching my feeder and have cameras set up in 2 locations(inside my house upstairs and downstairs) hoping that this or another white-winged might come down but so far no luck.
You can see the pictures from last year in the "Finches" gallery of my website? www.rlkimages.photoshelter.com. Also check out my "recently added images" gallery for Pacific wrens, red-breasted sapsuckers and several other species.
Bob Kothenbeutel
Woodinville
viper.bob at frontier.com