White-winged Crossbills at Eagle Creek

I finally got a chance to be a part of this incredible irruption. Birders have been reporting them in Crawfordsville, Fort Wayne, and everywhere in northern Indiana, in addition to Eagle Creek Park. I finally decided to pay the five dollars and see the birds. Since I found them, it was well worth it. This pair of male and female crossbills was very accommodating, staying low in the tree and occasionally posing for a picture. The male even flew down and landed right beside me (~four feet away!) to grab some snow. Pretty thrilling. They are called crossbills for the obvious reason that their bills do cross. They use them to pry open cones, as you can see the female doing in the bottom pictures.