| Female White-winged Crossbill |
We had our first Valley Bird Walk of the season this morning - and we weren't disappointed! Our most exciting find occurred as soon as we stepped off the front porch of the Curious George Cottage. Three White-winged Crossbills, two males and one female, were right in front of our noses in the vegetation surrounding the drainage channel between the Cottage and the Curious George Nature Trail. It was a great opportunity to get a long look at these unique birds up close and and personal. The crossbill gets its name from its unique bill, which enables it to deftly extract seeds from cones of coniferous trees (especially trees such as spruce and tamarack). An individual crossbill can extract 3,000 conifer seeds in one day!
Our other unusual sighting was a pair of solitary sandpipers foraging along the shores of Corcoran Pond. Shorebirds are tricky to identify, but after a great look at one that spent several minutes working a muddy section of shore right in front of us, we were able to positively identify the bird! Which can be a challenge with shorebirds - especially for those of us that spend a lot of our time in the mountains! The sandpipers we saw were in route along their migratory journey. They spend the winter in South and Central America and spend their summers in marshy areas throughout Canada. They can be seen during migration along the shores and banks of freshwater ponds and rivers.
Our complete list for the morning:
Pine Siskin
White-winged Crossbill
Magnolia Warbler
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
European Starling
Belted Kingfisher
Common Yellowthroat
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Grey Catbird
Solitary Sandpiper
Northern Parula
Barn Swallow
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