White-winged Crossbills, Boulder Co.

[Paula Hansley]

About 9 am today, Maggie Boswell and I came across a flock of White-winged Crossbills on the Arapahoe Glacier Rim Trail in the Indian Peaks Wilderness area!!  We had turned around farther up the trail because of the very windy conditions, convinced that we wouldn't see anything.  We heard them chattering and singing before we saw them.  They were high in several Douglas fir trees by the trail feasting on the cones.  I think we simultaneously said "white wing bars"?!  All the birds had two bold white wing bars, and we estimated the flock to be about 18 birds.  There could easily have been more.

Their song and calls are distinctly different than those of the Red Crossbill.  

We were about 3/4 mile to 1 mile up the trail.  This trail takes off from the Rainbow Lakes campground parking area.  The Rainbow Lakes road heads west 6.2 miles north of Nederland from highway 119 or the Peak-to-Peak highway.

Paula Hansley

Louisville

[David Dowell]

Paula and Maggie:

Great find!  Based on your report, I hiked the same trail this morning starting at 6:00 AM.  The flock of WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS was a bit scattered -- 1 near the campground, 12 about a quarter mile down the Arapaho Glacier Trail, and 8 about a mile down the Arapaho Glacier Trail.  The same stretch of trail had two AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS (one male, one female).

Afterwards, I continued along the Arapaho Glacier Trail for another 3 or so miles to the tundra.  Birding was mostly slow, but I found one snow patch with a nice assortment of tundra / rocky slope birds:

* White-Tailed Ptarmigans (2)

* Brown-Capped Rosy-Finches (4)

* Rock Wrens

* American Pipits

* Horned Larks

* Chipping Sparrow (tundra bird wannabe)

The snow patch was the highest one on the east facing slopes of the ridge line marked "Caribou 12310" on top maps, requiring a few hundred yards of off-trail walking, southward from the Arapaho Glacier Trail.

Note that I did not see or hear the White-Winged Crossbills during my hike back to the car late morning.  In general, bird activity had subsided quite a bit.  So, my recommendation for seeing the crossbills would be to get an early start, hoping that the birds will be as vocal as they were this morning.  The crossbills move around constantly, so some patience and some wandering back and forth along the trail might be required.

Thanks again for the report from two days ago.

David Dowell

Longmont, CO

[Meredith Miles]

I headed out this morning seeking out the crossbills, and only found two remnant males a mile or so up the trail. One seemed to be having some issues with a nearby Clark's Nutcracker!

I stuck on the trail thanks to David's hint though, and found a White-tailed Ptarmigan, some American Pipits, and a single female Horned Lark up in the tundra. Toss in the woodpeckers and rosy-finches and it makes for a great day in the field!