02/03/2021 Ness Gardens, Wirral

Common Crossbill: Enroute to an early morning winter bird survey not far from neston took me right past Ness Gardens where there has been a flock of crossbill hanging about for about a week or so. 

As I arrived the light was dreadful and made worse by the light sapping Scots pines that bank the edge of the visitor attraction. Scots pines have  have reddish bark towards the crown of the tree and brown bark towards the base. The needles are twisted and provide a thick blanket that blots out the light.  

 

The birds were already busily feeding on the small pine cones and chirping in the low branches, viewed from the public footpath off Neston Road.

Pine cones and their seeds were falling like confetti.

There has been up to 15 birds seen within this flock but I count 5 birds while I was there. 

Common crossbill are normally found in the Scottish Highlands, the New Forest and the Forest of Dean so to have them on a small pine plantation on Wirral is a bit of  treat.  

Crossbill have to be in my top five best UK birds, for a relatively small passerine they are gregarious, chunky  birds, the males are scarlet red and the females and juvs are a bright green. 

And they have that bizarre, cross-tipped bill, which it uses to prise out and eat the seeds from pine cones.

Really smart looking birds. 
 

03/04/2016 Birkdale NR, Southport

Common Crossbill: Third time lucky, a phrase which is too familiar amongst us birders and I've even experienced fourth, fifth and even sixth time lucky!

It was mid March when Patrick Earith and I dipped and again more recently; last weekend on a dank drizzly day with Dawn.

Today started off with that similar sinking feeling, no sign and no sound of any xbills, I even bumped in to some local birders who were waiting at gate 29.
I waited with these guys until I got hungry and decided to go for a wander.

This proved to be a very bad mistake as when I caught up again with these locals they told me I had just missed 31 xbills that came down to drink in the stream next to gate 29.

I was livid with myself.

Once I had composed myself I decided to go back to gate 29 and wait, it was here I bumped in to Eddie Jennings followed by Bill and Ruth Gorton.









Eventually the birds reappeared, they seemed to have come from the golf course pines and were just loafing around in the willows and birch trees in the clearing next to gate29.










Take a look at the awesome bill, these birds were well worth the wait.

The birds showed incredibly well, giving me great diagnostic views, from the females uniform colouration from olive to grayish, with greenish or  yellow chest and rumps. Their wing feathers blackish brown, without wingbars and blackish brown tail.

And the males with their large head and body painted deep brick red to reddish yellow. Wing feathers blackish brown again without wingbars!

These stocky finches have been in the area for ages and well worth a visit and as I was driving home I saw on BirdGuides there is now also a Black Redstart in the area too!

04/01/2014 Broomhead Reservoir

Red Grouse: Not long now until I go back to work, and I am keen to get out and make the most of my time off and fit as much birding in as possible!


So Dawn and I decided to go to Broomhead in search of Two Barred and Common Crossbill.

On the way up over Woodhead we spotted several Red Grouse looking as equally unimpressed as me with the dark, dank weather conditions.

Common Crossbill: And FINALLY after chasing Common Xbill for a while now, and taking the stick that comes with not having them on my list, here we have it, Common Xbill.

Along with this flock of around 20 commons I spotted three Two Barred Xbill showing within the dim light of the forest before getting scared away by a low flying Woodcock.

I am made up I saw the Cmmon Xbills but even more happier that I saw the Clitheroe Two Barred the light was much better and the bird was much more confiding.