Andrew Dixon
Member
There seems to have been lots more crossbills around the forests this winter. Was there an invasion in 2007? Is there any website that lists crossbill invasion years in the UK?
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crossbill invasion? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Andrew Dixon
- Start date
rokermartin
Well-known member
Dont think their has been a notetable Crossbill invasion for a few years now.Last good one was in 2002
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The last notable (ish) influx was early Summer 2006. The birds that are being seen just now are probably mostly birds that have been here since (and before) then. Some will have bred and some will be in post breeding groups and flocks. The theory is that by late spring/early summer they go back to where they came from ( or somewhere else). Here in Scotland, I am convinced that some stay on much longer, maybe even indefinitely.
Localised movements are quite common as food sources become depleted and birds roam around looking for new 'pastures'. This probably explains a lot of the recent sightings.
Lindsay
Localised movements are quite common as food sources become depleted and birds roam around looking for new 'pastures'. This probably explains a lot of the recent sightings.
Lindsay
mark richards
Well-known member
my birds must be down with you lot ... my patch is quieter than normal.
ovenbird43
Well-known member
There seems to be at least a mini-invasion here in North America too... I've seen them reported in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and other southern states where they are usually absent.
Julian Bell
Natural Born Birder
Autumn 2007 gave good numbers of Common and Parrot Crossbills on my local patch here in SW Norway. They stayed around most of the winter but have largely disappeared now.
Andrew Dixon
Member
The majority of the breeding males in a local forest have 1st year plumage - some bright yellow, others green and others orange-red with flecks of greenish feathers. Is a predominance of 1st year birds an indication that the birds arrived in an irruption?
The breeding birds appear to moving from the spruce plantation already as the sitka spruce cones (lots this year) have finished shedding seeds. Many birds commenced breeding in the dry sunny weather in early Feb. but do not seem to have been very successful in the wet weather that followed.
No, not necessarily. From my post I maybe gave the impression that no birds arrived here in 2007. It is feasible and likely that some birds did arrive, and late in the year at that, but certainly not anything like the mini influx in summer 2006. The 1st Winter / 2cy males may simply have dispersed from their UK natal areas. I believe that these 'golden cock' birds are progeny of the 2006 influx and even before ( type 4E birds are still locally abundant ).
The Commons here in Deeside have bred sporadically since late 2007, with most in January. I haven't been following their breeding sucess this year as I am working exclusively on Pine Crossbills but from what I understand productivity has been poor. That said I had a single streakie juv Common in a flock of 20 about 6 weeks ago which had clearly fledged in late December or very early January as it was completely independent.
The Commons up here have been using Scots Pine since they started opening in mid February.
Lindsay
Steve Turner
Well-known member
Good numbers of Crossbills in the UK over the last month or so, indicating we could be in for a good invasion this year.
Does anybody know or heard what the situation is in Scandinavia at the moment i.e. have lots of Crossbills been recorded at migration hotspots, and is there any evidence of any Parrots or Two-barreds moving along with Commons?!
Cheers
Steve
Does anybody know or heard what the situation is in Scandinavia at the moment i.e. have lots of Crossbills been recorded at migration hotspots, and is there any evidence of any Parrots or Two-barreds moving along with Commons?!
Cheers
Steve
Here in the Baltic States, there are now small numbers moving, nothing major though.
Steve Turner
Well-known member
Hmmm, OK thanks. Not too promising for us here then perhaps!
Should they start moving in numbers here, I would expect bigger movements from July onwards. As said though, just dribbles so far.
Maybe they are all going via Sweden and Norway to Fair Isle
Steve Turner
Well-known member
Maybe they are all going via Sweden and Norway to Fair Isle
They've got good taste if they do!
Birdspotter
Well-known member
Seen flocks of 18 and 8 at Tyninghame over the last two weeks at a spot that I have not seen any in a couple of years, so these might be immigrants, also had a flock of at least 13 birds heading west over Edinburgh today.
I only caught the back end of them as they dissapeared over the roofs, but heard a few notes to make me think that's what they were.
I only caught the back end of them as they dissapeared over the roofs, but heard a few notes to make me think that's what they were.
Very likely migrants. A similar influx occurred in June 2006 but this was just a 'top up' from the continent. We are due a biggie, which is a bummer as I still don't have my full ringing licence for trapping them so that will be yet another missed opportunity.
Jos, tell them to wait until next year.........if hell freezes over maybe the BTO will have given me my C permit by then !
(but I somehow doubt it).Steve Lister
Senior Birder, ex County Recorder, Garden Moths.
Here in Leics and Rutland there have been three flocks (15, 6 and 17) reported in the last ten days, possible signs of a minor invasion.
Steve
Steve
Aye, it's difficult to know if some of these flocks are post breeding flocks roving looking for food or if they are true migrants. Here in the highlands and mid Deeside we have quite a few commons now feeding on Scots Pine but these are most likely 'local' resident birds. With the last mini influx in 2006 I didn't really notice a change in the call structure of the population so it was difficult to separate them.
Taking Fair Isle ( and Orkney) as an indicator it is possible, and likely, that some of the mainland flocks are incoming migrants.
Taking Fair Isle ( and Orkney) as an indicator it is possible, and likely, that some of the mainland flocks are incoming migrants.
