A long, hard search finally pays off.  Having seen all the juicy reports of crossbills here on MDOSPREY, I was hoping to take a crack at finding some as well.  Heading out the front door here in Bel Air at 11:30 a.m. yesterday (Sun.), I quickly noted an unfamiliar chattering at the top of our Norway spruce (about 100' tall).  THEY'RE HERE! A frantic, chattering group of approx. 20 WW Crossbills were right where I figured I might at sometime find them.  That long, hard search took about 3 seconds.  How lucky was that - they say timing is everything.  I thought about that as I never saw them again the rest of the day.  As the group flew off (to the SW) it seemed to be mostly males, maybe 2:1 male-to-female.

Also present at the feeders: 2 Pine Siskin(s) for about two weeks now.


Rick Cheicante
Harford County
Bel Air, MD