Hey Tweeters,
After weeks of chasing them down, I?ve finally got good looks at the flock of 10-ish White-winged Crossbills in Ellensburg (5 male/5 female). The birds have been spotted along 2nd and 3rd St. near Craig?s Hill (east of Chestnut St.) since just before Christmas. I?ve heard and seen non-Red Crossbills nearly everyday on my walk to work, but have had trouble with time, weather, lack-of-binoculars, etc and haven?t gotten that definitive look. Well, today (1/29) they were on excellent display in the ornamental Colorado Blue Spruces on the CWU campus just east of the library. There are many soft-coned conifers between campus and Craig?s Hill, so a good long walk should turn up either this flock of White-wingeds, or the slightly larger flock of type-3 Crossbills that have been here all Winter.

Good Luck,
Walter Szeliga
Ellensburg, WA