No soaring eagles today as the area was decked in low cloud which
combined with a fresh wind made it quite unpleasant outside (temperature was
-7C) and a 5mm thick layer of ice covered everything. With the appropriate
clothes on though I took the kids out tobogganing and snow hole excavating and
had my ears cocked for any sound of birds. There was not much to hear but
eventually I did hear crossbills and located a small group not far away in some
small trees. I collected the camera and was able to get close. A pair of Common
Crossbills had the company of a (the?) male Two-barred Crossbill and whilst
feasting my eyes at less than 10 metres range I could hear that there had to be
another 2BC and sure enough a female joined the male. The male yesterday seemed
to be alone so these may well have been new birds. Either way I enjoyed the
couple of minutes they gave me before they moved on.
Later in the day whilst trying to relocate them (unsuccessfully) a Pygmy
Owl (spurveugle) shot over my head with a couple of very agitated Common
Crossbills flying away from it – a shot of a Pygmy Owl with a red male
Crossbill in its claws would surely classify as a money shot?
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| pair of 2BC - great birds |
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| the female - probably a 2cy due to quite thin white tips to the tertials |
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| the male is an adult with thick white tips to the tertials |
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| male Common Crossbill (grankorsnebb) |
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| female Common Crossbill |
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