Among the cones

Well, I'm afraid these are just documentary shots.  I heard and saw a few Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) today — along Occidental Road, about 1.5 miles east of Occidental.  They were feeding at the top of a very tall redwood.  So that you, too, can keep your eyes and ears open for them — here are two pictures from 13 November 2015, and a link to an audio recording from Sebastopol in 2012.

 

There are at least three Red Crossbills in the photo above — all on the right side of the trunk, at the top, middle, and bottom of the picture.

And here are two more crossbills showing their red color (one in the upper right, another in the lower left).

 

The link to audio recording from Sebastopol on 9 December 2012 is here.  The crossbills I heard today sounded similar to those from 2012, so I'm guessing they were also Type 3 Red Crossbills.  [For more information about Red Crossbill types, here's an article by Matt Young.]

Hearing their call notes is one of the best ways to find crossbills, so listen for their two-parted call, especially where there are concentrations of cones.