At least 20 people saw the crossbills this morning at Grandview Cemetery in
Fort Collins. As has been the case for the last week, the crossbill activity
is quite varied and generally unpredictable.
I am now convinced there are just 2 White-winged Crossbills (one adult male,
and one adult female that shows a fair amount of striping). Today, as many as
18 Red Crossbills were seen at one time, and it sounds likes most of them are
Type 5s ("lodgepole crossbill"). Sometimes the white-wings are with the reds,
at other times they are alone (for an hour or more). This morning several of
us really enjoyed the white-wings in the southeast corner of the cemetery,
where they mostly fed on cones in the spruces. To our delight, twice they
came down to the ditch bank (below the eye level of us observers) just east of
the pump house and appeared to eat both soil crusted with alkali and snow. At
one point, the male was singing a full breeding song. And I am convinced more
than ever this twosome is a mated pair in mind and/or deed.
Today both species of crossbills spent more time in deciduous trees (American
elm, mulberry, and green ash) than I have seen since the discovery of the
white-wings on November 22, although they did not appear to eat any buds or
seeds of these trees. A few of the Red Crossbills were scraping sooty
mold/honeydew that covers the upper surface of many American elm limbs.
Honeydew is a sugary excretion of both aphids and scale insects. The American
elms at the cemetery have long-standing infestations of the European Elm Scale
(Gossyparia spuria) and the Elm Leaf Aphid (Myzocallis ulmifolii). The sooty
mold is a fungus that grows on the sugary build-up of honeydew.
Today both species of crossbills spent the majority of their time in Section 9
(southeast corner) and Section F (right over the cemetery entrance by the
office and just west of it). Yesterday they were in E and 9 quite a bit.
Suitable trees exist in B, C, and 8, and certainly other areas, as well. The
reds, especially seem to go outside the cemetery to the east for segments of
time, but usually return at least once an hour. Chatter means they are
thinking about moving or moving. Silence means they are content and chowing
down. As such, it behooves crossbill watchers to pay particular attention to
times of chatter, in order to be able to follow them to their next feeding tree.
Also of note, Kelly Shipe photographed a Northern Harrier flyover this morning.
All things considered, this is probably almost as rare an occurrence at the
cemetery as White-winged Crossbills.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/
Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/
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