BIRDING TO THE EDG

This time of year in Rocky Mountain National Park can be one of the best times of year to visit. Even though it is cold, the trails still are open as the lower elevations in the park haven't been bombarded by snowfall yet. On Sunday, I went into the park and was delighted to see it was void of vacationers, as to be expected in November. The day started off quite cloudy, but eventually opened up for enough light.

The winter season is usually synonymous with finches here in the north. Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins are two common breeders in the park, however, these birds drop in elevation during the winter time. Both of these species can be difficult to photograph without feeders, but an open spot along a stream in Upper Beaver Meadows hosted both these species as seen in the photos.

The Pine Siskin shown above is a small finch of the north that commonly shows up at feeders and will flock together with other finch species. My Nikon EDG binoculars gave me an extra advantage to separate the fine features of this bird. Notice the heavy streaking on the head, flanks and breast. Pine Siskins have noticeable cleft in the tail as is the case with most finches. The bird is overall thin-bodied and small with a sharp, pointed conical bill. The yellow on the siskins vary but can show prominently on the vent, rump, and some of the linings of the flight feathers such as the primaries and secondaries. These birds extend their winter range to include most of the United States along with other species like American Goldfinches. Their most recognizable call is a rising "zeeeeeEEEEE," along with a downslurred "shhheeet." Their song is a typical complex finch song that is similar to American Goldfinch but more burry. Not a very difficult bird to see in most circumstances, but they like to sing from the high treetops in breeding season as most other finches will do as well.

Red Crossbills and their young depend on the conifer seeds they eat, so they are resident in most places they occur. They vagrate a bit into the southern tier of the midwest USA, but not commonly. Their odd-shaped bills are used to twist the cones and lift up the seeds that lie underneath. They come in a variety of sizes and eventually will split into numerous different species. The taxonomical world lists these as different, "types." The Rocky Mountain ecosystem lays claim to 4-5 types including the Black Hills, South Dakota.


The things I would like everyone to focus on for the photo above is the lack of overall streaking and the prominence of color on these birds. Those two things establish these two birds to most likely be adult females. It is hard to determine when these birds are just climbing out of their juvenile plumage (which takes ~three months before molt to adult) since this species can breed all year long. Notice the variable color patterns between these two ladies. Both have streaking on the mantle, overall gray/brown tone with the yellow/orange focused on the rump, belly, and crown. The placement of color is spot on as these two typical females get a drink. Juvenile birds would show little if any color and streaking all over.


Here is a typical male Red Crossbill. Notice the large criss-crossed bill (which can vary in size between types) on this bird. The black wings and tail are diagnostic. Also, notice the dark patch on the auriculars. These birds shown in the these photos are a likely Type-II candidate. Red Crossbills give off a two-note tip-tip of varying frequency. Others I have heard give off a ship-shup-ship as well. I hope this helps for the upcoming winter season.