Wednesday 18 December 2013

Parrot Crossbills....again !

Tuesday 17th December 2013
This week has been a mixture of a bit of local birding and the continuing quest to get good views of Parrot Crossbills. On Monday spent much of the day in the Tame valley: Coton was notable for Coots and Bullfinches, at Kingsbury numbers of Wigeon and Goldeneye continue to increase while a walk around Middleton Lakes produced a Great White Egret, 3 Little Egrets and a Grey Wagtail.
On Tuesday I took the opportunity to have another go for the Parrot Crossbills at Budby in Nottinghamshire. My attempts to get there early were thwarted by traffic holdups but I arrived on site eventually to find clear skies and about 50 birders. It was after a 1 and a half hour wait that the birds eventually came in.The small flock landed in the nearest tree to where most of the group were standing and then a few dropped down to drink in a puddle on the track. They didnt stay long and were not seen again for another 3 hours at least. Whether the proximity of some of the onlookers had effected their stay is difficult to say.
Parrot Crossbills, Budby, Notts.
Parrot Crossbills
Parrot Crossbill
Another great sight was 2 large skeins of Pink footed Geese heading east at some height. In excess of 250 birds were seen on this regular flyway for Pink feet.
Pink footed Geese

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