Greetings birders -
A flock of up to 25 White-winged Crossbills, predominately males, is frequenting ROSE HILL BURIAL PARK in Fairlawn (Montrose) since Tuesday the 20th through late today Wed the 21st. This cemetery is immediately west of Summit Mall, entrance on Route 18. This is west of Akron by 10-15 minutes. The birds are prefering the abundant cone crop of the numerous Colorado Blue Spruces on the grounds. There are a few hemlocks, Douglas Firs, and many other conifers in the cemetery as well.
The flock was active and put on a fantastic show both Tues and from what I've heard, this morning, too. At least once, I heard a male in full song (!). Just awesome. What a gorgeous and unique bird.
ROSE HILL BURIAL PARK Address:
3653 West Market Street; Fairlawn OH 44333. West of Summit Mall where Smith Road intersects West Market Street.
Link with map:
http://yellowpages.ohio.com/Rose+Hill+Burial+Park+--26+Mausoleum.9.7928325p.home.html
TODAY'S UPDATE:
Greg Bennett, of Akron, reports seeing 19 crossbills in section 19, reported to ohio-birds listserve at 4 pm today, the 21st.
At least 4 of the Rose Hill WW Crossbills were seen late (5:08 pm) on Wednesday, January 21st. Three males and a female. They were observed, apparently, "going to roost", as they sat atop for a few minutes then entered the tops of two Colorado Blue Spruces and thenisappeared - they were not actively feeding. My guess is that the majority of the flock was still present in the area but had gone to roost for the night.
CEMETERY SECTIONS TO CHECK
Although there are many cone-bearing conifers throughout the burial park, including a handful of nice hemlocks relatively near the entrance, the best sections to check are in the most northern (the "back" or "rear" part of the grounds) sections: Sections 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. I first located the birds on Tuesday in Section 18 and they have also been seen close by in the above listed sections. This cemetery is easy to get around in, and the sections are relatively small. *Very little walking is required*. I have repeatedly located the birds from within the car then parked and walked only a few dozen to a hundred feet along the road to get closer, stunning views. The birds are feeding up HIGH in the spruces.
HOW TO LOCATE
Be familiar with white-winged crossbill calls (a low, soft, rapid chet-chet-chet-chetchet). It may take repeated passes through the cemetery before you locate the flock. SCAN the tops of the blue spruces for movement. Flocks will often be active and will fly about for short spurts, but will also remain atop the spruces for upwards of 15 minutes before moving on to the next chosen treetop. It took one observer upwards of an hour to locate the flock this morning. Be aware that there are many House Finches in the area taking advantage of a similar feeding strategy. You may actually see both species feeding side-by-side or perched atop the same tree simultaneously. The two species are blatently different and diagnostic in all respects, but just be aware that there are a host of finches on the grounds.
SEIBERLING NATUREREALM
Only a few minutes down the road - from Route 18 east take Smith Road east - Seiberling NatureRealm (Summit County Metroparks) has been hosting upwards of 30 White-winged Crossbills (found earlier in the week) in the parking lot area and immediately around the nature center. I have no current updates on these birds as of today, the 21st.
best of birding -
Jen
Jen Brumfield
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Sharon Center, OH
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