The White-winged Crossbill pair at Grandview Cemetery (extreme southeast
corner, west end of Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado,
United States of America) were observed by many visitors today between 7:45am
and 2:45pm continuing to build their nest. Most exciting: Joe Mammoser spotted
the actual nest! Only a very small portion of it is visible about midway up
the tree on the south side, about midway out a branch between the trunk and
tip. This pinpointing perhaps will allow following the chronology of nest
events and add some information about what is known for this species. Many
very cool things were observed today in the way of nesting material selection
and methods of acquisition by the female, including Rock Pigeon feathers;
cottonwood seeds ("fluff") from last spring that had adhered to many tree
surfaces in the vicinity of, and in, the nest spruce itself (especially on
roots that protrude from the ditch bank at its base); what appeared to be
tissue paper; spruce rootlets; cottonwood inner bark; dried grass on the ditch
bank; etc. She spent long stretches in the nest and appeared to be
interweaving materials and shaping the nest cup with her breast/belly. For a
time she became a "white-winged troll" by going directly under the pedestrian
footbridge that crosses the ditch just north of the nest tree. As has been
reported, while on the ground in the ditch at various places and under
trees/shrubs, both birds eat lots of snow, drink water, pick grit and soil, and
manipulate fallen cones. If you've ever seen a picture of the great guitarist
Stevie Ray Vaughn's hands, that's what the feet of the crossbills remind me of
- grotesquely long, sinewy, and strong.
The male sang quite a bit, seemingly adding new pieces to his repertoire each
day, mostly between 7:30 and 11:00am. Of late, he does not seem to sing in the
afternoon. Call, somewhat all day long, but sing, no. He was consistent today
in his pushing of male House Finches out of the area. I saw no other
interaction today between him and other species.
Martin Blick and Carol Williams (both twitching their way around the States
from England), Becca Reid, Greg Summermeyer, John and Bayard Cobb, Sue Riffe,
Debbie Barnes, Ira Sanders and Tamie Bulow, Freba Karimzad, Jon Phalen, Joe and
Mari Mammoser, Seth Gallagher, and a few folks whose names I failed to get, saw
the birds today. I appreciate the photos of various activities some of this
roster and others have been sending me.
I should mention, the recent snowmelt has allowed golfing to commence. There
is a tee 75 yards or so directly southeast of the nest tree. Standing around
on the cemetery road in the extreme southeast corner puts you within range of
slices off the tee that are not common, but not impossible either. As proof, I
found three balls in that area today. For a number of reasons, including
windshied security, the corner is probably not the best place to park. The
cemetery staff would probably prefer birders park on one of the roads at the
west side of Section 9 (see the map at the cemetery entrace near the bridge
just west of the Office). I usually park at the junction of Sections 7,8,and
9. Please try not to park on the grass but in a way that doesn't block the
road either. Once parked, to safely watch the nest tree, walk to the extreme
southeast corner and go to the southeast side of the little pumphouse on the
pumphouse side of a mesh screen built to protect the building from incoming
golfballs. When the female crossbill comes into the nest tree, she does so in
an inconspicuous manner and is virtually impossible to see on the nest. He, on
the other hand, accompanies her to the nest tree, may perch in the crown of the
American Elm a few feet west of the nest tree, feed on cones in the top of the
nest tree, or chase House Finch males. He often calls ("ved-ved-ved.....")
while doing any of these activities.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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