White-winged Crossbills reported July 18 through August 14, 2012

[Rosyfinch]

LATEST REPORTS FROM AZ/NM RBA:

Date:    Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:18:20 -0700
From:    raymond vanbuskirk
Subject: NM: Continuing White-winged Crossbills at Sandia Crest (8/14)

Hello all,

Jason Kitting and I made a quick trip up to Sandia Crest this morning to look for the White-winged Crossbills that have been around for most of the summer. We arrived around 0700 and within 30 minutes we had one very bright male White-winged Crossbill coming in to get a drink near the radio towers, north of the main parking area. The large puddle on the ground has mostly dried up, but recent rains have created new puddles on top of many of the buildings and in a large gray storage container; this is where the crossbills were spending much of their time.

As we were watching one of the adult males we had a second adult male land in the trees over head (this male had a very clean face, unlike the first bird, which had a very noticeable dark border to the auriculars). We also had a brief look at a hatch year male, but it didn't stick around for longer observation. In total, we estimated there to be about 500 Red Crossbills in the area, and three White-winged Crossbills.

There was also a Clark's Nutcracker calling from somewhere below the rim but we weren't able to see it.
 
We checked the puddle at 10K trailhead but it was drying up quickly and only held a few Red Crossbills, Pine Siskins, and a Gray-headed Junco. In addition, there were about eight "Wild" Turkey above 10 K and two Band-tailed Pigeons just below the ski basin. Another awesome day in the Sandia Mountains!
 
Cheers and Good Birding,
Raymond VanBuskirk
Albuquerque, NM 



Date:    Wed, 8 Aug 2012 08:16:22 -0500
From:    Lamont
Subject: White-winged Crossbills at 10K and Sandia Crest

[Forgive the late post; I sent it Sunday from the wrong email address and it bounced back, thus the delay.]

On Saturday 4 August my wife and I had two WWCR in the puddle at 10K Trailhead and saw one at the Crest in the dead trees as previously discussed.  There likely could have been more at the Crest as we did not take a lot of time there.

We did NOT see the Goshawk at or near the ski lift, but did see a real nice Bald Eagle about a mile below that area.

Thanks Bill and Gale for your confirmation of sighting areas for me.

Lamont Brown
Denton and Harlingen, Texas
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Date:    Fri, 3 Aug 2012 23:56:51 -0700
From:    Gale_Owings
Subject: NM:  Crossbills and Puddles in Sandias Today

Hadn't expected to be birding in the Sandias again for a while after my
CNMAS trip there yesterday, but the sighting by some participants of a
probable juvenile Northern Goshawk at the large puddle in the wide turnout
on the right about a half mile below the ski area lured me back this
morning (August 3, 2012) hoping for a look at that bird.  Unfortunately, I
didn't get it but went on up to see if last night's rain had recreated the
puddles that had disappeared at 10K Trailhead and Sandia Crest. It had,
but only those at the Crest were attracting many crossbills while I
watched.  However, among them were two female/juvenile White-wingeds seen
drinking side-by-side plus three adult males observed preening together in
a dead tree after bathing--one of which may have been a bird I saw less
well and reported Monday as a very orangy immature male.

Gale Owings
Albuquerque        
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Date:    Tue, 31 Jul 2012 06:12:00 -0700
From:    Celestyn M Brozek

30 June, Monday

I had a brief appearance of an adult and immature
White-winged Crossbill at the puddle at 10K trailhead at 6
PM.  While Red Crossbills were coming frequently to the
puddle over the half-hour I watched, the White-winged made
only this one short visit.  Celestyn
********************************

Celestyn Brozek
Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Date:    Mon, 30 Jul 2012 23:06:21 -0700
From:    Gale_Owings?
Subject: NM:: Sandia Mountains Bird and Puddle Update

I was back in the Sandias today (July 30, 2012) to finish scouting for my
CNMAS trip Thursday when I met Jim Nelson-Moore of Santa Fe at the Crest,
where he had come to try for White-winged Crossbill.  While we were
watching the trees I had pointed out that WWCR seemed to be frequenting
along the east fence line of the radio tower complex last week, he spotted
two American Three-toed Woodpeckers in a large dying spruce about ten
yards to the south--one of which I also saw briefly before they flew
away.  This sighting was in late morning; but, unfortunately, Jim's target
bird didn't put in a good appearance until shortly after his midday
departure.  (Sorry, Jim!)  It was an adult male, which I also saw twice
more in the vicinity between 2:30 and 5 PM while searching along the near
North Crest Trail for more fresh evidence of ATTW foraging activity.  
Toward the end of that time frame a very orange immature male WWCR was
present as well.

Finally, the oft-mentioned water puddles at the Crest and 10K Trailhead
are drying up and probably will be gone in a few days unless/until there
is replenishing rain.

Gale Owings
Albuquerque
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Date:    Sat, 28 Jul 2012 14:17:07 -0700
From:    Bill Scott
Subject: NM: White-winged Crossbills in the Sandias today

Martha Auslander and I had great looks at an adult male and an immature at
the 10K trailhead this morning at 11:30. We saw them at the puddle across
from the restrooms along with more Red Crossbills than I've ever seen.
Earlier we also saw an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER  a short distance up
the trail by the radio towers.

Bill Scott
Tucson AZ

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Date:    Sat, 28 Jul 2012 03:58:32 +0000
From:    Mymm Ackley
Subject: NM:Another WWCB report/Mymm Ackley

Hi New Mexico birders:

  I finally saw the WWCB today (July 27th) thanks to the Olcott's, for which it seemed to have an eerie affinity. (As soon as they returned from a little trip to check out other nearby birds, there it was again--though I'd been trying for over an hour to see it through their scope while they were gone!) It was in its usual place at the top of the dead fir, just east of the fence very near the beginning of the trail. (The radio antenna site.) We could see it well from across the road, beside the lower parking lot. Though it had put in a brief appearance at the 10-K Trail parking lot puddle around 9 A.M., I'd missed it by 10 minutes. Near the top of the fir with it was what appeared to be an immature, perhaps second year male. Though it was definitely not gray like a juvie, it's reddish coloration was much more subdued than that of the more mature male that was with it. Now that I've finally claimed my WWCB reward, has anybody seen a Three-toed up near the Crest? Or anywhere!

Mymm Ackley  
 
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Date:    Fri, 27 Jul 2012 23:09:34 -0700
From:    Gale_Owings
Subject: NM:  Another White-winged Crossbills Update

Today (July 27, 2012) I went back up to Sandia Crest to do some scouting
for a CNMAS Thursday Birders trip I'm leading there next week.  En route I
stopped shortly before 9 AM to use the restroom at 10K Trailhead and saw
an adult male WWCR drink at the water puddle.  Then about 10 AM at the
Crest I also was lucky enough to observe well another adult male
(different auricular coloring than the 10K bird) plus a female of the
species, who appeared to be traveling together, as they preened for a few
minutes in the dead tree adjacent to the dying fir mentioned in my posting
yesterday.

Gale Owings
Albuquerque  

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Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2012 20:38:38 -0600
From: John Groves
   
Subject: Re: NM:  Sandia Crest White-winged Cr ossbills Continue

Steve Gibson and I saw one adult male WWCR in a large spruce tree inside the radio tower complex at the Crest at about 1515 hrs. It had been drinking in the puddles described by Gale Owings. Bird was best seen from the east fence. Interestingly, we found a large flock of Red Crossbills (with a likely juvenile WWCR included) considerably downhill near the Ski Area at a pullout across the road and downhill with several mud puddles. This is lower than they have been being reported.

John Groves

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Date:    Thu, 26 Jul 2012 21:57:09 -0700
From:    Gale_Owings
Subject: NM:  Sandia Crest White-winged Crossbills Continue

Today (July 26, 2012) around 11 AM at Sandia Crest I had two adult male
WWCR in the same tree along the east fence line of the radio tower complex
where I saw one Tuesday, but on second look that tree appears to be a
dying fir rather than dead spruce reported then.  I hung around until
about 2 PM hoping to see a female and immature of the species but didn't
succeed with either.  However, before I left an adult male came in twice
more to the aforemntioned tree and a dead one adjacent to it.

Gale Owings

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This was posted on the AZ-NM RBA on July 23:

Date:    Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:05:07 -0700

Bo Olcott and I had an adult male crossbill near the Ellis trailhead at 3pm today. After missing
the Crossbill at both the 10k trailhead and at the crest trail we birded along the road between
the two areas. Bo spotted the White-winged Crossbill feeding in the top of a spruce across the
road from the Ellis Trailhead sign that is a few 100 yards up the road from the Ellis Trailhead
parking area.

Robert Munro

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These related reports were posted on July 24:

Subject: White-winged Crossbills, Sandias, NM

Two White-winged Crossbills were at Sandia Crest this morning at 7:30 am.  They were in some trees almost directly on top of the fenceline that runs along the trail east of the antennas.  This is about 50-75 yards up the trail that goes north from the Crest Parking area.

I also stopped at the place where the La Luz trail meets the Crest Trail (just south of the Crest House).  For about 20 minutes, this was the birdiest place I've seen in a long time.  About 15 species were feeding on the ground or in the low trees almost too close for binoculars.

Woody Kuehn
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Date:    Wed, 25 Jul 2012 01:16:03 -0400
From:    Gale Owings
Subject: Re: Sandia Mountains, NM - White-winged Crossbills in two locations

A male WWCR also came in about 10:30 AM to one of the road puddles  inside
the radio tower complex at the Crest, and a short time  later probably the
same bird was nearby in a dead spruce along the  east fence line.  
Additionally, I had a male WWCR at the 10K  Trailhead puddle about 2:30 PM.
 
Gale Owings
Albuquerque  
 
 
In a message dated 7/24/2012 12:15:05 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time,  
Dave Krueper writes:

Birders  -

This morning I went up to the 10K Trailhead and found a female WWCR  almost
immediately drinking from the pond in the north parking lot near  the
rest-room.  This was at 7:45 am.  It flew out to the  north.  Interesting
that Woody Kuehn was at the Crest at almost the  same time and reported two
WWCR there (didn't catch if they male and  female).  I waited around the
puddle at the 10K Trailhead for an  additional hour and one-half and then
went up to the Crest House parking  area.  At 9:35 am I had the glowing
male WWCR come in to one of the 7  depressions in the road amongst the
radio towers.  The puddles on the  road can be viewed from the Crest House
parking lot or from the entrance  gate to the radio tower complex just to
the north of the parking  area.  As I was watching the male, another ,
similar-sized bird with  bold white wingbars landed nearby in the shadows
and disappeared into the  depression where the water was.  While I am not
*certain* that it was  the female WWCR, there were no other species
(siskins, etc.) with the  group of 9 crossbills there at the time, and so I
feel pretty good that  the pair is still traveling together.

I have never heard or seen so  many Red Crossbills in the higher elevations
of the Sandia  Mountains.  I estimated that conservatively there were
500-750 during  the course of the morning.  While at the 10K parking lot I
could see  and hear over 100 just from this one spot at one time. Listening
to the  calls carefully, I was fairly certain that I could make out three  
different types, but I am not prepared to go further into this than to  
make that statement.  When the RECR were coming down for bathing and  for a
drink, it was striking to see the variation in size between  individuals
when standing side by side.  Large and robust standing  next to smaller and
somewhat less bulky individuals.  A very good  morning indeed.

Dave Krueper
Assistant Nongame Migratory Bird  Coordinator
US Fish and Wildlife Service
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--George Cox reported a male WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL at Sandia Crest July 18.
He reported the bird from the parking area at the crest. It was seen along
with a juvenile the following day (July 19) by many. Several WHITE-WINGED
CROSSBILLS, including at least two adult males, have been reported from the
crest to the 10k trail head in the Sandia Mountains through August 1.
Watching puddles seems to be the best strategy but they are drying up fast
so bringing up water to keep them full may be helpful. Copulation was been
observed near the 10k trailhead July 21.