I'm curious to know if anyone has seen crossbills in Ohio this season. I 
don't recall any recorded reports from last winter, either. FYI below 
are central Ohio records taken from my book on the region's birds going 
way back...
Bill Whan

Red Crossbill   Loxia curvirostra.  Rare and seemingly more erratic than 
the following species, in cold weather, with a few interesting 
occurences in other seasons as well.  Wheaton wrote: “I saw a specimen 
said to have been taken in this vicinity in the winter of 1859-60,” and 
noted the acquisition, via Oliver Davie, of “a male shot with a pistol 
by C. Hinman from a flock of 8-10 in conifers in his Columbus garden” on 
the intriguing date of 18 June 1878 (Wheaton 1879:62), now OSUM #2162, 
which A. R. Phillips (tag data) identified as L. c. neogaea.  Three were 
at Green Lawn Cemetery 12/18/1925 with siskins (Thomas 1926).  OSUM 
#10234 is a window-kill, its crop filled with pine seeds, from 4/2/1964 
(CD 4/20/1964) on Hamilton Road, which three different crossbill experts 
have identified variously as L. c. pusilla, L. c. benti, and L. c. 
neogaea on museum tags.  Subsequent studies have found that differences 
in calls, rather than plumage and measurements, are more reliable in 
subspecies identifications.  D. Borror taped a calling flock that grew 
to 15 at Blendon Woods 4/12-16/1970 (WCB 16:37).  E. S. Thomas observed 
one eating white pine seeds in Clintonville on the unexpected date of 
8/27/1972 (WCB 18:24); 5-6 were observed elsewhere in town that day (AB 
27(1):70), with one seen the ensuing winter at a Clintonville birdbath 
on 2/24/1973.  There is another August record, from the 30th in 1985 (AB 
40(1):123), and one from September on the 29th in 1979 (OC 2(3):26). 
Bent (237(1):512) gives an early normal arrival in Columbus of 10/11. 
Local reports come from ten months of the year.  More recently, in 2009 
one was reported heard and seen on 3/28 in Hilliard (NAB 63(3):429) and 
another on 2/3 at Green Lawn Cemetery (fide G. Stauffer).  In 2012, the 
same location hosted at least seven on 11/26/2012 (ph. I. Shulgina). 
Maximum 20 on 1/31/1976 (AFN 30(3):727).  A pair in Ross County in April 
1973 (Thomson 1983:235) provided Ohio’s only confirmed nesting, which 
was apparently unsuccessful.

White-winged Crossbill   Loxia leucoptera.  Seemingly unknown to our 
area’s nineteenth-century observers, but present in appreciable numbers 
here during occasional winter incursions from the north since, most 
recently in 2012-13.  At such times their flocks are partial to conifer 
seeds, both on the tree and the ground, as well as fruits of sweetgums. 
  Groves of fruiting mature trees are preferred. One visited Green Lawn 
Cemetery 1/3/1920 (OSMSB 27), where 20+ were present 1/31/1976 (AB 
30(3):727) and as many in certain later years. One was singing 2/5/1996 
(OC 19(2):51), and two found 12/8/1997 (OC 21(2):49), an example of 
rarely-seen incursions in consecutive winters.  A late crossbill report 
came from 4/29/1981 (OC 4(1):37).  During the winter of 1963-64, 15 were 
tallied for the Columbus CBC, only the second record for the count; 62 
were in hemlocks later on 1/19/1964, and Trautman reported one at Green 
Lawn Cemetery 2/16/64 (fide E. Thomas).  The county participated in a 
memorable statewide invasion of these birds in the winter of 2008-9, 
with numerous reports, mostly involving crossbills feeding on conifers, 
through the period; this incursion alone raised the number of Ohio CBCs 
having ever recorded this species from 21 to 27 (Troutman 2010), and 
Franklin County hosted at least 140 reported, when especially preferred 
were hemlock seeds in ornamental plantings (OC 32(2):84).  Fifteen at 
Green Lawn 11/8/2012 were the first seasonal arrivals (NAB 67(1):73), 
with 25-30 the next day, and similar sightings continued through 
February; 20+ were in a Clintonville back yard feeding on hemlocks 
obliviously at arm’s length away 1/21 that same year (pers. obs.). 
Specimen 1/15/1954 OSUM #9307.

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