Thank you for posting this! It is a busy residential (apartment) community, and I got to see them today. It felt a bit odd being so excited looking at the birds while onlookers wondered what I was doing. I figured it was no worse than birding in a cemetery.
I just returned to MD from a New Years birding trip (to CA) and still had one day off for holiday break. So of course I had to go out and bird in MD, and I was hoping to see crossbills. I just can't get enough of them, I think they are unequivocally the best show in town. I went over to Patuxent North Tract since both species have been regularly observed there. I tried there nearly 4 hours but left a bit frustrated. They still have hunting and everything but the wildlife loop is closed so you are not allowed to walk any trails or off the road. You have to hope crossbills are feeding next to the road, but it happens often enough that with luck most folks get to see some. There is excellent habitat in many places there, which actually makes finding them a random guess as to where they may be when you arrive, as well as the next place they may go if you arrive and someone tells you they were just here and flew that way!
My best view at Patuxent was 2 WWs at ~100 yards, perched for maybe 8-10 seconds. Awful, right? Twice I saw a flock pass over; one flew silently straight perpendicular over the road and kept going clean out of sight. The other flock seemed to go down close to the road, but out of sight. I could occasionally hear them, but could not see them and they never came into view. We stayed at the road, which was frustrating since I think we could have seen them if we would have went to look for them but you aren't allowed to do that.
Just before I left I checked the list serve and saw this post, and it saved the day!! This is not far from Patuxent so I thought why not give it a try. As I approached, I was excited to see many trees that were perfect for crossbills and got was very hopeful. The moment I parked and looked up, there they were!
How often does that happen?
Three were feeding in a VA pine in front of the apartment at the address, and seen briefly but they flew over the building and out of sight. I followed the sidewalk around the building and found more VA pines, and they were full of crossbills!
I tried to look at each of them the best I could and think they were all WWs. They were very active feeding and calling, and moved frequently. All I heard or saw were WWs, plus I saw a RB Nuthatch. I was only there a few minutes when three of the apartment residents came out to talk and see what I was doing. Of course people with binoculars and cameras in a residential area raise resident's attention, so I quickly assuaged their anxiety. I explained the species habits and why it was exciting to have them here, and they were very curious and interested. They walked away satisfied and I think it helped, in case anyone else wants to look for these birds.
Again, thanks to all for this post!
Jeff Shenot
Croom MD
On Monday, January 7, 2013 5:03:49 PM UTC-5, Jim Wilkinson wrote:
> Here is a picture of one of the male White wings. [snip]
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> Jim Wilkinson
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