Scottish Crossbill - I need an expert! (1 Viewer)

[NowhereElse]

Hi all,

A bit of a weird question this; I am trying to find someone confident in the identification of Scottish Crossbills and who may be willing to help me see one. I am working on a book about endemic species in Britain and whereas the majority of the book will be about plants and invertebrates, I do want to cover Scottish Crossbill and Red Grouse and their respective histories of classification. As part of my research, I'd love to actually see see and hear one! However, I know my limitations; I can recognise a crossbill, but I am sure I won't be able to distinguish a Scottish Crossbill.

I am staying on the edge of the Cairngorms 10th - 12th March (hopefully, if the weather is decent, spending some of the 11th looking for the endemic Northern February Red stonefly). If anyone would be willing to help me find a Scottish Crossbill then please let me know - and you'd certainly be mentioned in the book! Please reply or DM me if interested.

Thanks!

 

[KC Foggin]

Hi there and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum
We're glad you found us and please join in wherever you like.

Hopefully someone from your area will chime in with some answers.

 

[delia todd]

Hi NowhereElse and a warm welcome from me too.

If you're in Scotland you may be interested in this: All things Scottish can be found here. Keep an eye on threads titled Scottish Bashes, we used to have one or two meetings each year and they were all great fun. Maybe we'll be able to start them up again before too long.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I hope to hear about all the birds you see when out and about.

 

[Steve Lister]

There are very few people who are confident about the ID of Scottish Crossbills without analysing sound recordings of their calls.
Some of the guides up there I think just show you 'crossbills' without offering an ID.
I remember years ago one of the proper experts said about one of the better known guides 'XXXXXX would not know a Scottish Crossbill if it landed on his shoulder and pecked his nose'.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Would suggest you switch your attentions to a different species - growing likelihood of Crossbills being lumped whilst increasing evidence to treat Red and Willow Grouse as separate species.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

I can’t help with your specific query, but I am very interested in your project as I have considered such a project myself. I would be very happy to assist you in any way possible.

 

[James Lowther]

Would suggest you switch your attentions to a different species - growing likelihood of Crossbills being lumped whilst increasing evidence to treat Red and Willow Grouse as separate species.

Surely if you’re writing a book those two contrasting cases are perfect fodder for making a good story. Ignoring the only current British endemic bird species would be a weird editorial choice.

Perhaps Lindsay Cargill might be a good person to get in touch with, i’m not sure if he’s active on birdforum anymore but it should be possible to track him down in e.g. Twitter.
James

 

[Phil Andrews]

Surely if you’re writing a book those two contrasting cases are perfect fodder for making a good story. Ignoring the only current British endemic bird species would be a weird editorial choice.

Perhaps Lindsay Cargill might be a good person to get in touch with, i’m not sure if he’s active on birdforum anymore but it should be possible to track him down in e.g. Twitter.
James

I actually missed that the OP referenced the grouse so agree that it makes a useful comparison on the fortunes of a 'species'.

 

[NowhereElse]

Thanks everyone for your helpful replies and feedback - I'll reach out to Lindsay and see what advice he has.
And yes - I do want cover both Red Grouse and Scottish Crossbill, as well as make reference to other endemic subspecies, e.g. our incredibly threatened endemic Willow Tit subspecies.

Welsh Peregrine - thanks for the offer! If there are any particular endemics that you feel have to be included then send me a DM and I can tell you what my target list looks like.

Thanks, all!

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Presumably the Sorbus species, and don’t forget Ivell’s Sea Anemone.

 

[earthdragon64]

Can't help with the Scottish Crossbill, sorry. You probably already know about the Rare Invertebrates in the Cairngorms project, one of their target species is the Northern February Red stonefly. They have a Facebook page and website and would be interested in records of any you manage to find. Are you returning north later in the year for the endemic Primula scotica - Scottish Primrose?

 

[Mark Lew1s]

With regard to Scottish Crossbill, the ID is even more complicated than simply analysing calls. I don't want to say too much here as I have notes that will be published in BB and SB that cover this in more detail, but suffice to say that identifying Scottish Crossbill by call is on much shakier ground now...

 

[Jos Stratford]

With regard to Scottish Crossbill, the ID is even more complicated than simply analysing calls. I don't want to say too much here as I have notes that will be published in BB and SB that cover this in more detail, but suffice to say that identifying Scottish Crossbill by call is on much shakier ground now...

Far easier approach is to merge this thread with the one arguing about capitals for bird names ...all hunky dory then, just write 'Scottish crossbill' in your notebook, all sorted 😅

 

[Gander]

A few years ago, I considered making an effort to find Scottish Crossbill. I was however, put off by the uncertainty of whether it actually exists. I did do some research though, and identified Baddengorm Woods, north of the A938 (NW of Carrbridge) as a prime target area. My research was a search for Scottish Crossbill on Birdtrack, then finding the annual entries from a nationally, very well known birder.