This morning about 9:45am I saw the female White-winged Crossbill atop a spruce midway along the north edge of Section 7 near the "Ring" headstones. There are hardly any cones on this tree. After calling in an aggitated manner for a few minutes from the very top of this tree, she appeared to disappear into the interior of the crown. There has been a Great Horned Owl roosting off and on in this tree but I could not see it today and don't think that is the reason for the crossbill's animation and disappearance into the interior tree crown.
Later I saw the female crossbill with a Red-breasted Nuthatch and two Black-capped Chickadees in the crown of an American Elm. She was either scraping European Elm Scales off the branch and eating them or wiping/cleaning pitch from her bill. With no warning she bolted off to the north in a big, sweeping arc, came around to the east at the far north end of the cemetery, and I lost sight of her. Also of note, I saw three Common Ravens flying in formation (most I've ever seen together at Grandview) and there was also a subadult Bald Eagle flyover. Total of 17 species. Dave Leatherman Fort Collins
