Re: Crossbills

Joseph j Halpin (halpinj@juno.com)
Sun, 18 Jan 1998 16:18:16 -0500


Norm, 

Thanks for the MC info.  Thankfully, I do not need it, since I was
successful this AM, both at Deer Park and  Pine Knob Roads.  My success
was due to those experts at these sites who were quite good at hearing
the bird sounds (David G of Virginia was one of these experts).  At 10:15
we saw a flock of 8 Red Crossbills at Deer Park Rd.  An hour later I was
at Pine Knob Rd and saw one White-winged Crossbill among a flock  of
about 20 Reds.  This time I had my scope out, the sky was somewhat
brighter and we got some good looks. About 10 minutes later 2
White-winged Crossbills cooperated by staying in a deciduous tree for at
least 10 min, giving us a chance to view them at several angles.  The
yellow rump patch on the female was quite visible. 

Again, thanks to the birders who helped.

The Texas trip was very good.  We recorded 227 species over the 2 weeks,
which included 87 life birds for me.  Being on the 5 CBCs and also having
the opportunity to be with local experts at other times was a bonus.  

On the last day we were on the beach at Galveston and bumped into a bunch
of birders who had just concluded that they were looking at a
Yellow-legged Gull among a flock of gulls.  This was a state record bird
and they asked us to help in the documentation.  

Also being with the experts on one of the CBCs we got a great look at a
Zone-Tailed Hawk, a bird we would have overlooked, thinking it was a
Turkey Vulture.

When we compared our trip list against Jim Greens, there were lots of
birds he saw that we expected to see but did not.  I concluded it is a
matter of luck and timing.  Much like when we were at Rio Bentsen SP; we
ran into people who had seen the Northern Beardless Tyrannulet 8-10 times
within a few days.  We and others looked for much of the day and had no
luck.

Thanks again for the information.

Joe