Just a quick note to say that I just saw at least
one pair (one yellow and one pink) of WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS in Grandview
Cemetery, Fort Collins, Larimer, west end of Mountain Avenue. They were
with a group of about a dozen Red Crossbills, feeding in Colorado Blue Spruce in
Section E. They were also seen for a time on the ground with eating
snow. If you find the flock (Section E is roughly just north of
dead-center (sorry, let's say "middle" instead) of the cemetery, and can watch
them for at least 45 minutes, my bet is you will see them come to the ground for
frozen water every so often. Watch for one crossbill to initiate this by
flying down from the very top of a cone-laden tree to a lower branch along the
outside edge, then further down, etc. Eventually the whole flock seems to
follow suit and you can get great looks while they "bite" the snow.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins