Crossbills at Stockhill

 
Paul Cousins
 
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Paul Cousins
Total Posts:  89
Joined  26-01-2017
 
 
 
11 November 2018 16:23
 

I was pleased to see a flock of about a dozen common crossbills very mobile on the plantation. They settled for a few minutes very high up on the very top of the pines where I watched them break the cones off the branches and take out the kernels with their powerful bills. I counted clearly 4 olive/yellow coloured females and 4 red/orange coloured males and 4 appeared to have no colour at all. I observed them with Tony Bridges. We both searched the plantation for about 3 hours and only really saw them once. We managed to get a few photo’s. hope you like the ones I took.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulcousins/45779875982/in/datetaken/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulcousins/45779879562/in/datetaken/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulcousins/45779871342/in/datetaken/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulcousins/45779877202/in/datetaken/
or you can see the photo’s on my Flickr site….......www.ukbirds.co.uk

 
David Speed
 
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David Speed
Total Posts:  22
Joined  27-12-2015
 
 
 
08 November 2018 10:24
 

Still present this morning. A flock of about 30 feeding on cones and moving about by clear fell in middle of the plantation.

 
Mike Moxon
 
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Mike Moxon
Total Posts:  586
Joined  18-12-2017
 
 
 
06 November 2018 15:37
 

Between 30 & 40 present today, although only seen in flight & half of them flew off to north whilst others circled back behind trees.

Mike

 
Alex Carlisle
 
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Alex Carlisle
Total Posts:  24
Joined  04-12-2015
 
 
 
05 November 2018 21:51
 

The track to the right Jeff (didn’t know there was one to the left, sorry!). Some really nice red males, and also very vocal, with their ‘chip-chipping’ heard long before I found them.

 
Jeff Hazell (Levels-birder)
 
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Jeff Hazell (Levels-birder)
Total Posts:  597
Joined  01-12-2015
 
 
 
05 November 2018 19:49
 

Hello Alex, just to clarify please, which of the two wide tracks, the one to the left, or the one to the right, of the car park as you face it from the road?

 
Alex Carlisle
 
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Alex Carlisle
Total Posts:  24
Joined  04-12-2015
 
 
 
05 November 2018 14:29
 

15-20 crossbills at Stockhill, lunchtime today. From the main open track up, halfway up on the left feeding in the tops of the heavily laden pine trees.