Good news, crossbill fans! Larry the male White-winged Crossbill has returned to Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins. The news of his demise at the hands of a small hawk was greatly exaggerated (by me). Marcia Maeda and I heard and then saw the male very briefly in early afternoon in Section 7 (far south). Later I came across him and the female feeding very quietly in the tops of spruce just to the west of today's first sighting, in Section 1, and then Section 8. This is the same general area where suspected courtship activity beyond singing and food-sharing was first observed. The pair today was feeding very close together and he fed her at least once. This may not be a real gender difference in behavior, but I would say when they change from feeding in one tree to another, she initiates the move almost every time. And it really does appear he disappeared for a few days and then returned, judging by the observations of several of us. Maybe the circus wasn't all the Reds cracked it up to be.
A fairly sizeable group of Pine Siskins has appeared at Grandview (10-15 birds). This group is feeding heavily on spruce seeds and pretty much stays to itself, unlike other loose associations of siskins in the past that have appeared to be very much tied to the crossbill flocks. I saw or heard Red Crossbill groups on various occasions. When I could actually find where they landed and watch them, it was two males and one immature female. Matt Webb of Fort Collins reported seeing a group of 15 Reds at Grandview today. Dave Leatherman Fort Collins -- Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en
