Magic finch tree, Lafayette, Boulder Co.

[Ted Floyd]

Hey, all.

Earlier this Thurs. morning, Oct. 13, I was slaving away at the keyboard when what should I hear but the fast and slurred call notes of a Cassin finch. Went outside to get a photo and an audio recording, and was pleased to see that the bird was in *exact same tree* as where a type 2 red crossbill had sojourned a week earlier.

The finch was actually the first of its species I'd ever detected in Lafayette, Boulder Co. A long overdue Lafayette lifer for me. And crossbills are decidedly uncommon--not even annual--here. I recorded the crossbill with my cellphone:

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/490595461

I literally "just pressed the red button." No app, no mic, no nothin'. I was taking out the trash in my beautiful red bathrobe when it all went down. Point being...point those cellphones at flying crossbills! (And Cassin finches.) We're still figuring out the when and where and how many--and even the who and what--of our Colorado crossbills, and audio of the flight calls, indeed cellphone audio, is what it's all about.

Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder Co.

 
Left: Red crossbill (with house finch), Oct. 5.
Right: Cassin finch, Oct. 13.