RFI -- Red Crossbills and Spruce Cones

[Cody Porter]

All,

I first want to (again) thank everyone who sent me an email in response to my last request for information about crossbills in Colorado. My fieldwork this winter went incredibly well thanks to tips I got from several people, in addition to eBird reports of crossbills from many of you (especially David Sudjian's incredible eBird activity).

This fall I'm hoping to do similar fieldwork that will compare the dynamics of reproductive isolation between types 2 and 5 during a large spruce cone crop to reproductive isolation during the absence of a spruce cone crop when crossbills are predominately utilizing their respective "key conifers" (the latter being the data I collected this past winter/spring). As such, if you happen to notice any high elevation spruce forests with a large amount of developing cones this summer, I would greatly appreciate hearing about it.

I will send out another email as fall draws nearer and spruce cones are maturing and (hopefully) attracting loads of hungry crossbills.

Good birding,
-Cody Porter
Laramie, WY (currently/originally Jackson, MI)