Mass movement of red crossbills now underway

REGIONAL— Enormous numbers of one of North America’s most complicated bird species have been pouring into the North Country over the past several months, setting new records at places like Hawk Ridge, which meticulously track bird migration.
Counters near Hawk Ridge, in little over a week beginning Oct. 19, tallied a whopping 12,557 red crossbills, a scale of crossbill movement that has not been previously documented there.
Those who pay attention to the bird world in our region have probably heard the burry “chit-chit-chit-chit” made by red crossbills over the past few months as they have moved about the forests in search of conifer seeds, their primary food. While the calls they make can be readily identified as red crossbills with just a bit of practice, those with highly trained hearing can distinguish which variety of red crossbill they’re hearing. Red crossbills are probably the most biologically complex bird species in North America, with 12 different types, numbered one through 12, each relatively specific to a certain region of the continent.
Counters tallying crossbills near Hawk Ridge have been identifying mostly Type 2 and Type 4 birds, both of which are normally found in the western U.S. and Canada. These birds are moving elsewhere this fall in search of better food sources after a poor cone crop in western Canada. The cone crop appears to be better in northeastern Minnesota, which is likely to keep a fair number of these birds in the area over the next few months, at least.
Red crossbills are conifer specialists, with uniquely crossed bills that allow them to quickly pry open the scales of conifer cones. They then use their thick, sticky tongue to extract the calorie rich seeds held tight within. As specialists, however, they are highly dependent on good cone crops for their survival and are known to move across the coniferous regions of North America in search of food.
The males are a dull red, with darker wings that lack the white wing bars of the related species, the white-winged crossbill. Crossbills can either be “right-handed” or “left-handed,” meaning that their upper beak may cross either to the right or the left, with the lower half of the beak curving the opposite direction.
Crossbills are not at all uncommon in northeastern Minnesota, where there is usually a variable population that can shift depending on cone crops. In years with abundant cone crops here, crossbills can show up in large numbers. Two years ago, an abundant crop of black spruce and tamarack cones attracted vast numbers of white-winged crossbills to the region.
Red crossbills are known to come to feeders on occasion and have a preference for black sunflower seeds, which they are able to crack and eat easily despite their unusual beaks.