Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Another beautiful Crossbill comes to drink

It is interesting when you look closely at a Crossbill to see that the beak crosses either from the left or the right.  This gives you the opportunity sometimes to separate individuals.  For example, I don't think that I have seen this bird drinking from my pool before because the previous male birds photographed have had beaks crossing from the other direction. I have read that there is no pattern to this and birds in the same nest can be either lefties or righties! There is probably a gene involved and a pattern of inheritance could probably be worked out. Mendel's theory of genetical inheritance is not difficult to grasp.  For example, some traits can be "sex-linked" meaning that females - in some cases - can carry the gene but only males will show the characteristic or visa-Versa.  Other rules are either dominant or recessive.  I don't believe that any study has been carried out to ascertain what the pattern of inheritance for left or right beaks is? It could, however, just be random, who knows?  This bird (below) is the partner of the male and her beak crosses to the right as well.

Male Great-spotted Woodpecker, Haldon Devon.

Crossbills at a drinking pool.

A small drinking pool that I created on the edge of some conifers close to home has become just as productive as I hoped this last few days.  Siskins drink from it constantly, Stonechats come to bathe and a few Lesser Redpoll are often there as well. However, it was created with Crossbills in mind and this last week it has been very fruitful.  We have had a spell of very dry weather with hardly any rain for a few weeks and water is probably in short supply elsewhere. This is exactly what I hoped for.  There is a pattern and the first Crossbills arrive between 1020 and midday. I would suspect that at dawn there is a small amount of dew on the leaves high in the canopy and the birds take advantage of that. Around the pool, there are some upright branches and usually, the Crossbills that come down alight on one of these to choose a safe spot to drink from. It is thrilling when one flies in, they are often brightly coloured, either red or yellow chunky birds with very noticeably strong legs and feet. They seem big, almost twice the size of a Siskin for example and of course, they have an enormous beak which crosses at the tip either left over right or right over left, there is no pattern to this.  Some birds can be quite drab because they get more colourful as they get older. This makes them very interesting because you can recognise certain individuals by their markings. A female bird has been down to drink most days, she is very attractive with a bright yellow rump. Yesterday, two different red males came down, separated by around 20 minutes so I am assuming that this was two family groups. I am looking forward to seeing more and more of them and getting the chance to take even more pictures. 

The female Crossbill again.

I had another visit from the same female Crossbill yesterday and Siskins are coming constantly to drink and feed as well. There are beautiful Yellowhammers also who must have a nest nearby, I know that because they come to collect food and then fly off with beaks full of sunflower hearts only to return to do the same repeatedly. Great-Spotted Woodpeckers are coming to take peanuts - there are 3 - an adult female and 2 juveniles. Interestingly and perhaps uniquely, juvenile GSW are more colourful than their parents with a red crown that disappears after the first post-juvenile moult in late August.

I really hope that the male Crossbill that I have seen regularly moving with the female, comes down to give me a chance to photograph him. I have no idea why he is so reticent, several times he has flown down only to circle around before disappearing back up into the high canopy. This is very frustrating.

As you can see, juveniles do not have bright crimson red feathers around the vent as adults do, instead there is just the vaguest hint of red, however, they are still one of our most colourful birds with bold black and white markings on the wing which flash when they are in flight.

This is a female Yellowhammer.

Crossbills in Devon

I very much like to get my teeth into a project and then devote as much time to it as I can.  Currently, my obsession is a small area of Forestry Commission Land on Haldon, a heathland turned in to a plantation very close to the city of Exeter, an area of approximately 1,416 hectares.  This is a great habitat, very under-watched and always quiet apart from the odd cyclist who whizzes by on the trails, they are mostly odd, to be honest. This is ridiculous really when you realise that the area is designated as a SSCI and an important area for breeding birds.  Well, apart from this annoyance it is a haven, almost a paradise and only 10 minutes from my house. Parking is not an issue because I have made friends with Martin who lives in a wooden house next to an extinct quarry right there. So, to get to the nub of this post.  Yesterday was just a fabulous success because I managed to photograph a Crossbill that came to drink from my drinking pool.  I say my pool because I prepared it especially to attract Crossbills. The pool is just a large puddle but provides much-needed drinking and bathing water to the birds that live nearby and probably further afield as well. I chose the area because in the winter and when there has been a lot of rain, this is a soggy wet area and the birds are used to drinking there. When we have no rain for extended periods, the pools and boggy areas dry out and the birds move on to find water elsewhere.  I dug out a depression in the rocky ground and used thick plastic sheeting to form a pool which I then camouflaged with vegetation to look as natural as possible.  I then used stones and pebbles to imitate a natural puddle in the path.  It looks good and the birds like it!  The only fag is that I have to cart in the water daily to keep it topped up.

The Pool.

I arrived at just before 11 in the morning and quickly set up because I could hear Crossbills nearby and that usually means that they are about to come to drink. In a little natural hide around 20 feet from the pool, I put the camera on the tripod and sat in expectation.  Normally there is a considerable wait but not today because almost immediately there was a bright yellow bird, chunky and bold right on an upright branch next to the little source of water.  It was the female Crossbill that I have seen 4 times now.  I can tell her apart because she is quite unusually yellow and also has a few tiny red feathers on her cheek patches and some on her mantle.  She hesitated on the branch before dropping down to the water to gulp beaks full of water.  Crossbills drink slowly because of the shape of the bill which makes drinking difficult. They sip water into the beak and raise their heads back to swallow.  They are very vulnerable to predation whilst drinking which explains why they are very shy and careful before coming down to drink. 

Normally, once one bird has come down to drink, others will usually follow and this female is part of a family group which includes a red adult male and a younger less colourful bird which is probably a year old from the last time they nested. With Common Crossbills, females are yellow, and males are red. All juveniles moult into yellowish coloured birds, then the next moult the males start to acquire red feathers and the females get more yellow. Consequently, there are Crossbills of different colours and plumage patterns which adds to their attraction and mystery.  I have had a few opportunities to photograph the red male that moves around with this small group but each time this bird has been too wary and not landed.