...So what is being said in all this is that we need to check the
evergreens (especially the Eastern Hemlock) in local graveyards for red or
yellow Robin sized birds with a funky bill that seem out of place.  :-)


Happy birding and God bless,

Steve J.


On Oct 31, 2017 3:59 PM, "David Tan" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Well I didn't realize BW and TS had covered this until I was nearly
> finished.  If I am being redundant forgive.  Fascinating though.
> looking at various states Red Crossbills are spreading east into KA,
> NEB, OK (as BW mentioned), ID, MO and from the N they are closing in
> from  IN (large flock, Dune SP), IL (Cook Co., among others), Quebec,
> Toronto (where they may be staging just North of Erie) and largest
> numbers MI UP (Tim mentioned the nice numbers at Whitefish upstate).
> If the stay E of the upper Great Lakes they should space around the
> lower Great Lakes.   NY, NH, ME are beginning to see the, in various
> numbers.  Several reports mention RECR using white pine, pine sp.My
> experience. too.  Tim mentioned crossbills striking out over water, I
> can agree, the do not seem put off by such, strong flyers.  In Jan.
> 1972 (an invasion of both species throughout new England and mid
> Atlantic, a crazy process of Red's circled our boat about 15 mi. out
> while on a pelagic trip off Ocean City.   Ihave seen flocks cross the
> upper Del and upper Chesapeake Bay. And sometimes rivers.  The are
> certainly at home following coastlines.  Red Crossbills (and WWCR for
> that matter) can be ridiculously tame.  I can attest, for the most
> part, the two species segregate, in my experience.  One of the few
> times the two species flocked together for me was in Dec. 1971 (the
> remarkable crossbill invasion winter 1971-72..  While participating in
> CBCs on the lower DELMARVA we ran into several large flocks crossbills
> (on two counts) and the WWCR ( 15 White-wingeds, /96 Reds) were fairly
> distinctive with two bold white laundry marks on each wings.  The
> predominate tree on the cape are large stands of mature Virginia
> pines.  There are increasing reports of redpolls, also.
>
> Northern Saw whet Owls are ahead of schedule in Toronto, a nice sign.
> Although a little late, I thougjht I d mention Swanson's Hawks are
> worth looking for, especially NW and WC Ohio (east to the glaciated
> corridor from SW Franklin north to the Lake, the islands, Sandusky.
> From Detroit HW and Hawk Cliff and Holiday Beach, with two each, with
> a few more scattered along the N shore of L Erie and L Toronto.  Heads
> up:  a Common Greenshank has been hanging around Forsythe NWR in NY,
> in case some didn't know.  I suppose that's overdue.  Finally, a
> Razorbill has been seen near Ottawa, Toronto.  Ridiculously good
> birding.   November is often the best and most underrated month for
> good birding.
>
> Best
>
> David and Patty Tan
> Columbus
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 30, 2017 at 3:00 PM, Tim Spahr <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > Hi Bill, Ohio Birders:
> >
> > There is indeed a heck of an irruption of crossbills going on right now.
> > It looks like there has been a major cone-crop failure in most of the
> west,
> > and as a result crossbills are exploding out of the Rockies (Cassin's
> > Finches, and Pine Siskins, too) in huge numbers.  One of Lake Superior's
> > premier migrant traps had 1300 Red Crossbills in one day last week.  This
> > is coupled with an apparently historic crop of white, red, and Norway
> > Spruce cones in the east, in which at least 2 flight call types (1 and
> 10)
> > bred in big numbers in New Hampshire, New York, Maine, and Ontario.  It
> is
> > crazy out there!
> >
> > I can verify crossbills will move over water--there are records from
> > Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and even Iceland (!).  Yesterday at least a
> > hundred moved past Whitefish Point in Michigan, which may or may not be
> > birds that crossed (much) open water to get there.
> >
> > For more information on crossbills, including explantations of the
> various
> > 'flight call types', interested observers may read this article:
> >
> > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/crossbills-of-
> north-america-species-and-red-crossbill-call-types/
> >
> >
> > It would be great to document crossbills in Ohio with recordings when
> > possible.  I am happy to help anyone with this.  Feel free to drop a note
> > privately.
> >
> > good birding!
> >
> > Tim Spahr
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Oct 30, 2017 at 10:00 AM, Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Observers in the mid-western states are reporting larger-than-usual
> >> incursions of white-winged crossbills and fewer red crossbills from
> >> Indiana to Oklahoma recently. Thus far I haven't heard anything about
> >> crossbills in Ohio at the same latitude. These birds are readily found
> >> if they're around, so I imagine we'll be getting our customary trickle
> >> soon, perhaps more. Maybe we should blame Lake Erie.
> >>        Is there any work that shows that crossbills are not happy about
> >> crossing large bodies of water when they move south? On occasions I have
> >> seen a few exhausted and scraggy-looking crossbills along Lake Erie
> >> beaches, and more regularly inland (I've seen decent numbers several
> >> times in Columbus, and recall having them within arm's length in
> >> hemlocks off the deck in my back yard). I don't recall often seeing
> >> mixed-species flocks in Ohio. As winter moves on this year, it might be
> >> well worth being alert for them; the most productive habitats have been
> >> conifers in large old cemeteries.
> >> Bill Whan
> >> Columbus
> >>
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>
> --
> David Tan
> Columbus
> [log in to unmask]
>
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