[EBB Sightings] Red Crossbills

>From John V. Dennis' "A Complete Guide to Bird Feeding":

"The northern coniferous forest is the home of the crossbills. Occasional
appearances southward are to be associated with the failure of the cone
crops on which these birds depend."

Perhaps a why or wherefore....

Beth Andrews
Berkeley


on 8/25/04 8:46 AM, John Harris at johnh at mills.edu wrote:

> Matt et al.,
> Sorry for the late reply.  In the 18 years or so that I've lived in
> Oakland, I can only recall 2 or maybe 3 years during which I saw
> crossbills regularly.  In at least one year it was a pretty big outbreak
> year all over the bay area, based on the sightings that were being
> reported.  Unfortunately, I can't recall which years.  During those years,
> I saw crossbills with regularity in Redwood and upper Joaquin Miller
> parks.  The trail where I walk my dogs daily would often yield crossbills
> several times weekly.  That is the Dunn trail, which you can access from
> the parking lot on Skyline, a half mile or so north of Redwood Rd.. I
> would also suggest driving Skyline Blvd along the section where it
> separates Redwood Regional Park and Joaquin Miller and stop at various
> places.  I saw them primarily in Monterey Pines, or flying between
> isolated pine stands.  Some of these have been hit hard by pine pitch
> canker, so it will be interesting to see what happens next time we have a
> lot of crossbills around.  Hope that's helpful.
> 
> John H. Harris
> Professor of Biology
> Mills College
> 5000 MacArthur Blvd.
> Oakland, CA 94613
> (510) 430-2027
> johnh at mills.edu
> 
> 
> On Fri, 20 Aug 2004, Matt Ricketts wrote:
> 
>> No, I haven't seen any lately, but am wondering if anyone knows of any
>> reliable
>> spots in the East Bay to find this species. I know going out birding just to
>> look for crossbills isn't the wisest thing given their irregular and
>> irruptive
>> nature, but they are one of my "nemesis" birds. Several times while in the
>> Northwest I have heard flocks flying over but have not once been able to get
>> a
>> good look at any birds! So, if anyone knows of any spots or has seen or heard
>> any lately I would appreciate the info (e-mail off-list).
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Matt Ricketts
>> El Cerrito
>> 
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