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 inher ..read more

..read more

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 ..read more

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 Au ..read more

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 ..read more