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.
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.
