A few months ago we had a nicer day then most and was able to convince my ever homework crunching grad student wife to pack up and go birding for the day. We packed up the dog to go with us and we set out for an adventure. For the previous week we had heard about some white-winged crossbills in huge masses in Salisbury. Off to Mass we went. We had a good time, saw a couple of short-eared owls hunting, but barely saw any crossbills. Near the end of the day, we finally saw a lone three. Making it official I had finally seen them for the first time, but not really well.
Today I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and take my camera out and see if anything was happening on campus. Having wandered for a while and having found nothing, I wa son my final loop heading eventually back to the office when I spotted some activity happening on the ground. A quick look through the lens and I was convinced they were crossbills. I slowly approached, taking a few snaps, and then moving closer, being careful not to spook them. Maybe it helped, maybe they didn’t care. Before long I was on one knee taking photos, while they hopped around. One was so bold as to actually hop right under me, where I squatted. Others, came within a foot of me while they feasted on pine cones left from branches trimmed before the snow and left for spring clean up.
as classes changed, students began walking by, and of course stopping for a few moments when they saw some guy with a d200, with grip and 70-300mm lens. A few impressed with the birds, some not, non really scared the birds. A few times the flock moved to a new location nearby, but again with a little patience accepted anyone that came near. It was an awe inspiring moment for sure, that resulted in some cool photos.
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