Here’s our nearby Red Crossbill male. He was perched in a tree with a nest in it. The female is in a close tree. He took off singing, not the typical chipping, but the actual song. Susan thinks that they are nest building. We’ll check the next time we’re at Whitefish Point.
A small group of non-resident Red Crossbills. They have much larger bills.
The male crossbill seems to be checking out the Pine Siskin.
Here’s a female showing what the bill looks like when it’s open. They pry pine cone (and other conifer) seeds out of the cone using their bill like scissors opening the scales allowing their tongue to slip in and extract the seed.
More later…
Michael's Place 