Life List - 76

Liberty Park in Salt Lake City is rapidly becoming one of my favorite spots for urban birding. Though it is in the middle of the state's largest metropolitan area, it is a refuge for many bird species with its mature trees, lake, open spaces, natural plants, and other attractive features, not to mention being the home of Tracy Aviary. Today on a leisurely walk -- after feeding a stale loaf of bread to the mixed flock of California gulls and ring billed gulls -- we ventured down a path lined with pine trees and soon came to a dangerous area of falling cones and other projectiles. Out came the binoculars and field guide, and the culprits were soon identified: red crossbills.

The name red crossbills aptly describes the male birds, who indeed resemble a strongly colored red house finch with a peculiar bill shape with curved, crossed tips. The female birds are yellow instead of red but they share the crossed bill characteristic, which I was fortunate enough to see. Take care standing beneath these birds, however. While there are always good reasons not to stand underneath birds, when the red crossbills are feeding they are clumsy and falling pine cones are plentiful. They use their specialized bills to dig deeply into the cones and extract the seeds, but they're just as likely to drop the cone onto unwary birders as they are to enjoy a tasty morsel.

As exciting as it is to add another postively identified species to my life list, it is also a joy to be in any location with as much birding life. Black capped chickadees, Canada geese, mallards, and gulls are all regular residents in Liberty Park, and I hope to become an even more frequent guest to their backyard, even as all birds are welcome to become guests in mine.