Delaware Crossbills and help on Md. White-wings
Felton, Gary L. (glf1@cdc.gov)
Mon, 29 Dec 1997 10:32:24 -0500
We spent Thursday through Sunday birding at Cape May, NJ and coastal
Delaware and Md. We saw several Red Crossbills at Cape Henlopen State
Park Saturday and Sunday mornings in the vicinity of the Great Dune.
Sunday morning we got excellent views. There was an adult male, an
adult female and two juveniles in different plumage phases in a tree no
more than twenty feet away and fairly low. We observed them feeding for
ten minutes and we could actually see them prying cones apart and
extracting the seeds. I have a feeling that all of the White-wings have
left that area but there are certainly more than a just a few Reds
around. We saw one flock that had perhaps 50 or 60 birds. Neither us,
nor four other birders who were looking for White-wings found any.
Even though we saw them at other locations around the Great Dune the
most productive spot was the area around the parking lot on the left
just opposite the observation tower.
We saw the MacGillavray's Warbler at Cape May Friday morining and the
drake King Eider at Cape Henlopen both Thursday and Friday. Birders
were looking for it on Sunday but the ones I talked to didn't see it.
BTW, I am looking for someone to bird with on Saturday morning who is
very familiar with the area around Liberty reservoir or the Baltimore
area where the White-winged crossbills are being seen. If you are
interested in getting together please let me know.
Gary Felton
Rowlesburg, WV
GLF1@CDC.GOV
304-454-9251