*
The terms "hardwood" and "softwood" are lumber industry for broadleaved and
coniferous trees. Burn only Douglas-fir or pine in the stove and you rarely
need to remove the ashes there is so little mineral content. So I can imagine
the seeds of conifers to be equally low in minerals. It's possible salt spray
is pervasive enough to satisfy Type 10s' bodily needs passively. I can't
imagine the Sitka spruce are taking up more minerals themselves. lpn
On Jan 23, 2018, at 11:18 AM, Wayne Hoffman wrote:
------ Forwarded Message --------
From: Wayne Hoffman <whoffman@xxxxxxxx>
Date: 1/23/2018 11:02:20 AM
Subject: Re: [obol] Crossbill diets other than conifer seeds...
To: David Bailey <davidcbaileyoregon@xxxxxxxxx>
Hi -
I seem to remember reports from a few springs ago of Red Crossbills in the
Willamette Valley feeding on buds of deciduous trees. Lots of places Red
Crossbills will visit bird feeders and eat seeds, I am not sure which seeds
they take, other than sunflower. So like most animals they are capable of
switching to less-desired food when the good stuff is not available. That
said, if available, they will specialize on the appropriate-sized conifor
cones, and will travel away from alternate foods to search for the preferred
cones.
Another interesting aspect of crossbill diets is that they seem to be
mineral-deficient, and crossbills are often seen on the ground or other
substrates apparently eating mineral-rich stuff. I have seen them in several
places, including Cabin Lake GS and Rim Village at Crater Lake, picking
mortar out of brick walls. I have also seen them pecking at crumbled
concrete, and apparently eating ashes in cold firepits. Someone photographed
the White-winged Crossbills on the roadway on Bayocean Spit, foraging either
for minerals or grit (or both?) Every few years here along the coast someone
reports crossbills alighting in the high intertidal and apparently eating
seasalt crystals.
Living here on the coast, where we have mainly Type 10 crossbills much of the
time, it is notable how rare it is to see crossbills on feeders or on the
ground, and I suspect that when this does happen is when we are visited by
other types. Maybe in this salty coastal environment the Sitka Spruce seeds
are less mineral deficient than other conifers inland?
Wayne
On 1/22/2018 10:48:10 PM, David Bailey <davidcbaileyoregon@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Bailey <davidcbaileyoregon@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, Jan 22, 2018 at 10:45 PM
Subject: Re: [obol] Re: Coastal crossbills article
To: larspernorgren@xxxxxxxxx
Regarding foods eaten by Red Crossbills other than conifer seeds, I have
seen them cracking and eating sunflower seeds when flocks visited our
feeders in the Alameda neighborhood of NE Portland for many days one winter
long ago. I have also found them in the Trout Creek Mountains of Harney
County in the Mt. Mahogany stands where I presumed they were foraging for
the seed of that tree. The Mountain Mahogany Crossbill is a yet to be
described species?
David C. Bailey
Seaside, Oregon
On Fri, Jan 19, 2018 at 1:49 PM, Lars Per Norgren <larspernorgren@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
*
Alan Contreras found Red Crossbills in alders on the Coquille Valley CBC a
few years ago. At the townsite of Prosper I believe. It probably happens
more often than we think. They are remarkably quiet when feeding. Tim
Rodenkirk and I found them 10 or 12 feet off the ground feeding in pines a
block off Hwy 101 on the Port Orford CBC. It was by accident, as I was
pursuing the calls of Red-breasted Nuthatches. The Crossbills never made a
sound, and their greenish plumage on a very sunny day at noon was admirable
camoflage. lpn
On Jan 19, 2018, at 1:06 PM, marty bray wrote:
We found Bill Tweit's article about crossbills in ebird Pacific NW to be
informative. We have continued to see small flocks of Red Crossbills in
Beaver Creek Natural Area and Ona Beach State Park (Lincoln County) for the
past few weeks, although there seem to be fewer birds than in November and
December.
In addition, and to our surprise, on two different occasions (1/7/18 and
1/15/18) we observed flocks of Red Crossbills (15 and 11 respectively)
extracting seeds from female red alder catkins at Beaver Creek Natural
Area. In both instances, we heard the flocks fly in and watched them land
in the alders, where they proceeded to feed silently. If we hadn't heard
them fly in, we probably would not have detected them. Unfortunately, we
weren't able to get a recording to determine which red crossbill Type they
were.
Cheers,
Marty and Jeannie Bray
On Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 9:36 AM, Robert O'Brien <baro@xxxxxxx> wrote:
