Date: 9/21/26 2:38 pm From: Lance Benner via groups.io <lbenner...> Subject: [LACoBirds] Evening grosbeaks and red crossbills
All, Following up on the message from Dan Cooper about evening grosbeak sounds, if you find any grosbeaks or red crossbills during the irruption that is developing, PLEASE try to get recordings! You probably don't need fancy equipment and your cell phone probably has enough sensitivity. Any one of the sound recording apps on modern phones will probably work, including Merlin, but I prefer Song Meter Touch and Voice Record Pro (both are free) because they are more sensitive than Merlin and will pick up fainter sounds. There are five known evening grosbeak flight call types and two have been recorded in southern California: types 1 and 2. Type 2s breed in the Sierra but most of the grosbeaks documented in this part of the state have been type 1s. There are 12 red crossbill flight call types currently known in North America, and of these, types 2, 3, and 4 have been documented in Los Angeles County. The vast majority have been type 2s, which are adapted for ponderosa and Jeffrey pines, and to date these are the only ones found in the mountains. Types 3 and 4 are much, much less common. The best way to tell the types apart is with audio spectrograms generated from recordings and videos. If you get find red crossbills and evening grosbeak and get recordings, please upload them to your eBird lists. This will really help us understand this irruption better. Finally, be on the watch for breeding by red crossbills. They can breed at any time of the year if the cone crop is good. If so, then they will be singing in addition to calling. Regards, Lance Lance BennerPasadena P.S. Please note that Cassin's finches and Lewis's woodpeckers are also starting to turn up so be on the alert for them. _._,_._,_
