White-winged Crossbills

White-winged Crossbills are normally seen at a distance, feeding on conifer cones in the tree tops. It is usually difficult to observe White-winged Crossbills close up. The males are red or orangish-red.

White-winged Crossbills primary food is conifer seeds. They extract the seeds by forcing apart scales of cones with the bill tips, and lifting out the seeds with tongue. This is a female White-winged Crossbill.

White-winged Crossbills are small birds, slightly larger than a Gold Finch.

On Sunday afternoon I went to Alyeska Ski Resort, hoping to photograph White-winged
Crossbills. I succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. I discovered the grounds crew has been feeding them outside of their shop building. They have been tossing grass seeds on the ground near the building.

Very neat Gary! Glad that worked out so well for you.

A close up of the crossed bill used to extract seeds from conifer cones. This is only the second time I have seen Crossbills. A few weeks ago I was able to spot a small flock feeding in the tree tops, but never got a good photo. Yesterday I took hundreds of pictures, and a few of the shots are good.

That shot is good along with the others! Their funny looking guys. :-)

Very nice!

There's an invasion of them been forecast for Britain this autumn, but so far there's only been some in the far north of Scotland (Shetland and Orkney Islands).

Resin

Wonderful Gary. I always thought they were more the size of Pine Grosbeaks, thanks for the info. Glad you were able to get pictures of them.

THanks Gary, these were fun to see.

Fascinating birds, Gary. Great pictures too.

And so my education continues. Thanks Gary. Great birds. In the close up of the male, it almost has a parrot like look about it.

Wow that is interesting about the size. I was under the perception that they would be about the size of a house finch or a little bigger! It is so neat to see the males and females together. So much color!

Great photos, Gary. Glad you had success with your intended purpose for the trip. Such is not always the case.

Taking advantage of the seventh sunny day in a row, after three weeks of gray sky and rain, I drove the 40 miles to Alyeska Ski Resort again.

At first the Crossbills weren't at all cooperative. Occasionally I would see small flocks of 3 or 4 birds in the tree tops off in the distance. Eventually they came down to feed, and I was amply rewarded.

A male with two girlfriends.

A closeup of a male's crossed bill.

A close up shot, of a female White-winged Crossbill.

This picture shows the range of colors, a red male, a yellow female, and two dull colored juveniles.

I took so many good shots it was difficult to chose a few to post. It's hard to believe I drove 135 miles one way, five weeks ago, to a place Crossbills had been reported, and failed to see any. It was surreal today with a dozen or more feeding 8 to 10 feet in front of me, until I finally got tired. I was down on my knees, for a better shooting angle, and my old knees gave out.

Looks like they're collecting grit there. They need a lot to grind up the seeds they eat.

Next task is to find some without white wingbars . . . they're usually by far the commoner!

Resin

Resin, the Red Crossbills, without white wingbars, are listed as common in southeast Alaska. However, I'm a little too far northwest. In my area they are a rare species. The White-winged are listed as uncommon through Alaska.

Gary
edited to add: