It was a cold, gray morning when 25 bundled up birders met at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge headquarters Dec. 22 for their annual Christmas Bird Count. However, as the day progressed, temperatures warmed, the sun came out and birds were on the move. A total of 41 different bird species were tallied, which included 2,217 individual birds. Some of the day's highlights included a golden eagle, wood duck, 238 wild turkeys, a pair of red-shouldered hawks, over 200 common redpolls and a shivering song sparrow, which had stayed much later than is normal for this species. But no doubt the highlight for the day was finding pine grosbeaks in two different locations. This large, pink and gray (male) or rust and gray (female) boreal forest bird is seldom seen this far south in Minnesota. Betsy Beneke, Visitor Services Manager for the refuge, surmises that the birds are here because of poor food crops in Canada. "They feed a lot on mountain ash or crab apples, and drought conditions may have contributed to poor crops in the north, so the birds have come farther south than their normal range, looking for food. We seem to have plenty of crabapples and other hanging berries in our region, so the birds are finding food. I've observed them in St. Cloud and Foley, as well as near the Refuge. I'm sure there are birds in other locations in central Minnesota as well." Sherburne's count is one of over 50 done in Minnesota, and thousands done throughout North America within two weeks of Christmas each year. Friends of Sherburne NWR coodinates the Refuge count, organized by volunteer and Friends member, Dean Kleinhans. For more information, visit the Friends of Sherburne website at www.exploresherburne.org