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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

White-winged Crossbill Invasion

When I moved into Pequot Lakes this fall I was worried about bird diversity, but this winter's incursion of White-winged Crossbills such as the one below - have allayed those fears for a while.  

The White-winged Crossbills have been quite abundant in Pequot.  Large flocks of these birds can be found feeding in the tops of the mature spruce trees found throughout town.  Listen for their loud chattery flight calls to help find them although their gregarious flocks are not hard to locate this year.  

My favorite sighting occurred a few weeks ago as I was walking down Old Highway 371.  I passed under a small grove spruce trees when something dropped on my head - I looked down on the ground to find my assailant only to discover it was a spruce cone.  I quickly scanned the tree to find the culprit and discovered nearly a dozen crossbills frenetically feeding.

So if you are in town keep your eyes up!