Back from North Idaho for Thanksgiving and was welcomed by a small flock (~12) of RED CROSSBILLs this morning (Fri., 17 Nov.’23) feeding in our neighbor’s heavily laden Blue Spruce in southwest Denver (Athmar Park neighborhood, Denver Co.). They took off before I could get a recording, but sounded like “Lodgepole” (Type 5) crossbills to my ear. They definitely were not “Ponderosas” (Type 2), though could have been “Douglas Fir” (Type 4) as I’m a bit rusty with these guys which have been mostly absent this past couple of years in North Idaho where they were our most abundant crossbill for a long time. Feeding on spruce cones points to “Doug Firs”, but these guys and gals seemed heavy headed/billed for this call type, so still thinking “Lodgepoles”. In any case, having these guys down in the lowlands is always a treat, so keep your ears open.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Doug
Currently Denver
PS – While the spruces seemed to have a good cone year, our Ponderosas seem light, so I guess they have to do with what they can get.
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