I'm not sure if I should put it this way in regard to this species, but only about 60 Red Crossbills were tallied at Jones Beach this morning. Obviously a good number by most measures, but quite a comedown after Saturday's flight. Most moved on quickly. But one lone male stayed for maybe 15 minutes, finally hooking up with a flock of 5. In the meantime, a couple of people got recordings. So we might be able to deduce the type. I'm glad that getting the word out has provided an opportunity for many people to enjoy the crossbill action. Unfortunately, I didn't consider that it might attract people coming with existing recordings - and selfishly playing them and annoying birds and people. None of those present appreciated trying to track down a calling bird that wasn't there.
As I mentioned, the crossbills are quickly moving on. To my eyes, the cone crop on the Japanese Black Pines seems less than what I've seen in other years. Photos of crossbills are showing that they have been getting something out of the cones, but I'm afraid there just might not be enough to allow a repeat of the winter 2012-2013 show at Jones. A single Evening Grosbeak was heard and seen by some for a short time. American Goldfinches were way down, too, with only about 600. Pine Siskin is still in the mix, but not many. Steve Walter From: Steve Walter [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, November 21, 2020 4:12 PM To: NYSBIRDS ([email protected]) <[email protected]> Subject: Red Crossbill Flight There was a very nice flight this morning of Red Crossbills at Jones Beach (and I would expect other coastal locations). From 8:00 to 1:00, around 330 were tallied by me and many helpers. Also, about 1640 American Goldfinches. A few Pine Siskins were still moving, but numbers are way past peak now. To be clear, this was a migration event. As word got around of the numbers being seen, people were showing up expecting to see crossbills all over the place. That's not how it works, at least for now. These are migrating flocks (of up to 30 birds). Some pass straight through, while some do stop off for up to a few minutes. Unfortunately for hopeful photographers, most of the stopping was being done in the highest pines at the West End turnaround. But there can be some good photo ops for the patient. I put up one picture on e-bird https://ebird.org/atlasny/checklist/S76508296 . How many times today did I mention November 25, 2012? That was the day we were allowed back onto Jones Beach, after Sandy caused a closure while the last big irruption was taking place. Those that were there that day were indeed treated to crossbill flocks (White-winged, too) all over the place, and in smaller trees. We can only hope that it happens again. Next northwest wind forecast (in the morning, when it matters) is for November 24 (Tuesday). Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
