After our lobster supper on August 9th (the last night of the fourth of five Deluxe Atlantic Puffin Workshops), we had an absolute blast photographing a remarkably cooperative White-winged Crossbill that stayed low and slow—perfect conditions for a dream shoot. I was ready, armed with my Sony a1 Mark II and the stellar Sony 400–800mm zoom lens. Earlier in the day, we had already seen a few fleeting glimpses of a Bay-breasted and a Yellow-rumped Warbler, but the crossbill was the clear highlight.

What made this encounter so special wasn't just the bird's behaviour—it was where it happened. White-winged Crossbills are nomadic finches typically associated with boreal coniferous forests, where they feed almost exclusively on the seeds of spruce and pine cones. So to find one on L’île aux Perroquets, a small treeless island off Quebec's North Shore with no coniferous trees in sight, was truly unexpected. During my decades of leading the Deluxe Atlantic Puffin Workshop here, I've heard their calls in the distance but never witnessed one landing—let alone offering such a perfect photographic opportunity with such a colourful background. Moments like this are a reminder of nature's unpredictability and the rewards of always being prepared.