Red Crossbills still here on the first of June

The Red Crossbills that arrived in Maple Leaf nearly two months ago are still here on the morning of June 1st.

This is, um, unusual. (From the Sibley Guide to Birds, Red Crossbills are “uncommon and very irregular.”)

In comments on an earlier post, Elizabeth noted that crossbills, a type of finch, would likely leave for the mountains around now.

But we have over a half-dozen in the yard this morning. They are quite bossy around the feeders, chasing other birds away. Earlier in the week they even tangled with an Anna’s Hummingbird at our water feature.