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Pine Grosbeaks - UPDATE January 4, 2017

Winter birds are here in Ely. I know I shouldn’t have taken the time, but it sounded like fun to take a ride around Ely and use Donna’s knowledge of where the food trees are and her good bird-spotting ability. Pine grosbeakPine grosbeakWhat started it was a frantic phone call from Donna that dozens of Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) were stripping the berries from our 10-foot tall mountain ash tree and I was missing it. These beautiful birds come down from northwestern Canada and Alaska only in some winters. By the time I could get on the road with a camera, maybe a half hour, the tree was stripped and the birds were gone. No pictures. We wondered if we’d find them at another tree. We drove around. They had vanished, but Donna did point out a gathering of Pine Grosbeaks (Pinicola enucleator) eating their usual favorite here—ash seeds. They often tip upside down to pick them. They then strip the wing off the seed. They have a slightly crossed beak, a little like the crossbills (Loxia sp.) that we also see sometimes—especially in winter. Pine grosbeakPine grosbeakPine grosbeaks spend their summers in boreal spruce forests. I suspect the crossed bill is to get seeds from spruce cones, like Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) and White-winged Crossbills (Loxia leucoptera) get seeds from other cones. The bird books don’t have much on the summer habits of Pine Grosbeaks. We don’t see Pine Grosbeaks every winter, so I’m glad Donna spotted them. They are known for being trusting, approachable birds as are many species that live in the far north. The male I photographed watched me walk under it and aim the big camera up toward it—maybe 10 feet away. It didn’t fly. It just grabbed another ash seed as you can see. It’s one of the more sought after birds for birders. They are uncommon, although widespread, in the far northern boreal forest in North America and Europe (maybe Asia).

Thank you for all you do.

Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center


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