Crossbill Trek

This past Saturday Patty and I joined six friends on a quest to find Red Crossbills in the Pinelands of New Jersey. We would ultimately succeed. But it was close.

We met at 8:00 AM. And while it would get comfortably warm in the afternoon, it was below freezing as we started out.

At the meeting point I noticed this enclosure. I also noticed that the fence is pushed down in places. This is likely a good thing, because as I would learn later, the plant inside thrives in disturbed sites. 

Our (other) friend Terry, the prime mover behind the expedition, had been given a specific location to find these birds. And we also knew that they liked to drink from puddles.

Alas, subfreezing temps lead to iced over puddles.

The area exhibited signs of a recent fire, perhaps a controlled burn? It is not clear if this is good or bad for the Crossbills. The Pitch Pines have serorinous cones, meaning they only open when heated, as by a fire. 

So is it better for the birds if the cones are sealed by resin, with seeds inside, or opened by fire, with seeds mostly dispersed?

On the side of one trail we came across this metal sheet. Not something one expects to find in the middle of a pine forest. I lifted it up, hoping for a sleepy snake or other interesting critter. No luck. Of course, as this is Rattlesnake habitat, that was probably for the best (I did have multiple layers on, to combat the cold).

We then came upon this enclosure, fence intact. The sign inside reads "Keep Out" and notes the area is under camera surveillance. We saw no cameras, but I smiled and waved nevertheless. It's for Science.*

After about two hours wandering in the woods, we arrived back at our cars. We were saying our goodbyes, disappointed at our lack of success, but happy to be out and about, when we heard it. "Jip, jip". overhead. It circled about and few down the trail we had just hiked.

Success!

Patty and I had other commitments and thus took our leave. A couple of others did as well. But a few, including Terry, stayed and continued the quest. She, and we, were rewarded with a number of images, two of which are reproduced below (thanks Terry!).

Image courtesy Terry Lodge

Look at that bill. Hence the name.

Image courtesy Terry Lodge

It is put to good use prying open pinecones, as these birds eat the pine seeds.

🌲  🌲  🌲  🌲  🌲

* A couple years ago Patty did some voluntuorism at the Churchill Northern Studies Center. And whenever she was out in the field, and came upon a fenced in area like this, she was told, "it is for science".