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White Wing Crossbills


finnbay

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To be honest, Jim, I'm not sure I really have either. Steve was with me going up the Fernberg and he said "Oh, there's a pair of white winged crossbills!" I'd have never known the difference and kept on going!

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Sweet shots, the last one really jumps out.

Donbo, crossbills are pretty unique in that they congregate where their food source is. They might be abundant one year and unheard of the next couple years. They feed heavily on spruce and tamarack seeds and have a nomadic lifestyle following the cone crops. Their breeding cycle is more closely tied to food availability than it is to season so they can nest anytime during the year. This year there is an abundance of crossbills so we must have a good cone crop. I have been seeing them just about every time I head out. They are attracted to the grit and salt on the roads but are often over looked as Pine grosbeaks since they are similar in appearance. So I guess the answer is to your question is, how common they are relates to the cone crops the conifers produced. This year they are pretty common, I have seen a lot of them, last year I only had one sighting.

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I have seen them this year in East Bethel(Anoka County) and Sherburn National Wildlife Refuge (Sherburn County) and I know hawk ridge in duluth reported I think it was 8000 in one day flying through heading south. This Is a good year to see them if you live in central or southern MN.

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