Loxia Fantastica

"We'll Take The Oil, you can keep the Crossbill"

2012-01-30T03:14:00.002Z

S'been a while, I know. Very busy with work and catching up with all my crossbill data as the massive write up of all my data over the last 8 years continues. I am also digistising the remainder of Alan Knox's Crossbill Recordings ( from 1/4 inch tape !) after Magnus Robb kindly provided the first batch. These also need analysed...then collated with all my stuff to provide a 30 plus year call lexicon for Deeside. It's all exciting stuff and there will be a few twists.........

To keep all crossbill addicts going meantime here is a wing moult pic of a rather lurvley second calendar year male Common Crossbill from Finzean in Deeside:

Note the old greater coverts (fringed with buff edges), old tertials and pretty trashed outer primaries.

Stay tuned, more to come on calls, biogeography, ecology and what Devo Max and Independence will mean for the Scottish Crossbill (EDIT content removed to avoid offence to those of a weak disposition..apparently).
Lindsay

Scottish Crossbill, 19th April 2009

2011-09-14T23:38:00.000+01:00

A retrospective example of a genuine Scottish Crossbill to compensate for all those published pictures of Parrot Crossbills on the web and publications. Taken with Nikon D300 and Nikon 300mm f4 lens, upper Deeside Spring 2009.

© Lindsay Cargill 2009

Common Crossbill Calls and Dragonflies, Summer 2011

2011-09-14T15:28:00.001+01:00

Been a while but have been really, really busy with work and other commitments - apologies to regular LF readers who may have missed their fix of Crossbill nonsense.

In June I was lucky enough to spend a week over Glen Affric/Beinn Eighe way, primarily to look for Odonata but of course I was on the look out for Crossbills and had recording equipment with me. Turned out to be a really bad year for dragonflies - even seing a couple of Large Reds was a welcome sight some days. That said, in the end the only target species we missed that way was White-faced Darter, but we picked them up at a reliable site in Abernethy on the way home. Dragonfly highlight was Azure Hawkers at Loch Maree:

And even some blue form Azure Dragonfly females:

And a 'blue' form female and male together so you can see the difference (female on left):

There were actually several of these blue form females at this site and we did wonder if it was a result of the particularly cool Summer we had been having up till that point - to date it has been the worst Summer I can recall, winds and wet weather have made it very difficult to do any serious ringing on my days off which has been really frustrating. It is worth pointing out that at this site we had blanked Azures on two previous visits - the day we got them in good numbers was sunny and warm.

Quite a lot of these going around:

And another highlight, Northern Emerald:

I had flocks of Common Crossbills every day arounf the Beinn Eighe Visitor Centre and surrounding woods. Many juveniles were present and the birds were feeding on Scots Pine. Regular reader will already know of my concern at the interpretation of certain crossbill flight calls and here is a good example from Beinn Eighe:

There is a juvenile begging call in there ( "teet-ow") but look at the adult flight call and how it 'morphs'. At the far left it almost resembles classic published Scottish Flight Call (fc3) with its extra trialing component. Then the extra component disappears and the second call in is a typical Fc1 ( choopy or parroty variant as I call them) but the last 4 fcs all have that quite strong trailing component ala Scottish Crossbill, and which give the call a flutey quality when appraising them aurally. These birds were definitely Common Crossbills - I had a really good chance to examine their plumage, body proportions and bill structures.

The flock flying off (14 birds) and clear Fc1 (parroty variants):

On the way home we discovered a really big feeding flock of Common Crossbills at Dinnet in Deeside. These too were feeding on Scots Pine. And, another "morpher":

This bird is a Fc1 Common Crossbill. But, how many would classify it as a Parrot on the second, third and fourth calls ? How many would classify it as a Scottish on the last call ( a two syallable structure) ?

This sequence adds in a variant Crossbill call I have been recording since last year:

The third call in from the left ( and replicants at the end of the sequence) looks like a Fc1B (or parakeet)type on the sonagram, but aurally they sound very like Fc4 (or glip) type Fc's ( due to the higher frequenct trailing tail). The corresponding Ec does seem to be EcB so I am classifying them as 1B types but aurally they really are like Fc4's ! To me 1B "parakeets" sound really "cheepy" whilst these jobbies sound quite "clippy", a big difference. I don't think it is safe to assume these ones above are "parakeet" types, vocally.

A "real" glip to compare, from lower Deeside 31st July 2011:

And on the same day a Fc1 with extra component (ala Scotbill ???):

I am pretty sure that Crossbills add these 'artifacts' as a result of their double syrinx - they can produce more than one note at a time and thus can easily produce two different notes at two different times as above ( I think it may be a 'resonance' of the first note through the second chamber of the syrinx, exaggerated when calling particularly strongly - but this is just a hunch). I am prety sure that in the lexicon of published data this call might have been good for Scottish......

If anyone wants copies of the sonagrams then just ask - don't copy and fob off as your own please !

© Lindsay Cargill 2011

Birdwatch Crossbill Article....The Truth Is Out There ?

2011-06-15T12:49:00.000+01:00

As a subscriber to Birdwatch and as someone who was consulted by David Callahan for his excellent article on Crossbill Taxonomy last year I read with interest the piece “Crossbills: New Challenges” by Andy Stoddart in Issue no.228. As a ringer and researcher spending much of my spare time studying the crossbills of NE Scotland some of the content contained in the article raised certain issues with me and there are also parts of the article that I feel are worth further comment. Firstly, I must state that I have every respect for Mr. Stoddart as an author and as respected and experienced birder whose all round experience is clearly extensive and not open to question, however I do know Crossbills very well so I hope my comments are received constructively and in the good faith that they are offered. My main reason for writing this response is that possibly up to 100 times more people will read Mr. Stoddart’s Birdwatch article than ANY scientific paper on Crossbill research, therefore I feel it is important that the facts and information are presented clearly and responsibly and that any speculation or personal hypotheses are also made clear and also in context.

Mr. Stoddart raises the point that the movements of our native birds “are not fully documented, notably the extent to which Scottish and Parrot Crossbills may wander from their breeding areas”. This is not true for Scotland, which is where these birds are resident, as RSPB have conducted two extensive surveys including a Scottish Crossbill Survey. On a similar point later in the article it is claimed that crossbills have been trapped in England during the irruption of 1990-91 that had measurements that “fell well within the range of Scottish Crossbill”. Whilst this may be true there are two factors worth considering and adding as caveats; first, that individual observer bill depth measurements can vary significantly potentially over-estimating the bill depth measurement, and that this, combined with the fact that some Common Crossbills can have long wings, could make large-billed Common Crossbills appear ‘Scottish’. Secondly, there is considerable variation in crossbill biometrics within ‘types’ and perhaps this was ‘exaggerated’ by a bigger sample size during an irruption. Another important point is that, as far as I know, the all important vocalisations were not taken on these birds. In other words to infer that these Crossbills could have been Scottish Crossbills is speculation without foundation - the article that was referenced actually suggested the opposite eg. that some birds in the study considered to have been Scottish on bill size may actually have been Common !

A 'big' Common Crossbill with Bill depth 11.2mm and wing 99mm....

Another assertion that I strongly disagree with is the statement that the work on crossbill vocalisations that has most relevance to British observers is that of Magnus Robb in particular in Dutch Birding (2000). Not to take anything away from the pioneering work then (and now) by Magnus I feel it was a bit of a major omission not to reference or include (or cite !) the extensive work carried out by Dr. Ron Summers on UK crossbill vocalisations and distributions, and in some cases abundance indices are available for all the various crossbill call ‘types’, though again with a particular focus on the Scotland - we are still part of the UK as far as I am concerned regardless of any recent Nationalist 'sucesses'. Ron and his colleagues also matched biometrics with vocalisations, something that Magnus didn’t and which in part may have accounted for some of the Parrot calls on the Dutch Birding CD then being mistakenly classified as Scottish Crossbill. To recommend this to British birders is therefore somewhat errant as presumably they will want to accurately ID both Parrot and Scottish Crossbills. The Chapter on Crossbills in the “Sound Approach to Birding” corrects the calls for Scottish and Parrot and would, in my opinion, be a more appropriate and accurate resource for a UK based birder than the Dutch Birding CD and is readily available. However, the Common Crossbill material in the Dutch Birding CD is indeed comprehensive and worth owning for this alone, and I concede this point.

Given that a major focus of the article was to be on Crossbill Identification I feel more could have been made concerning the differences between Scottish and Common and Parrot and Scottish but I understand that only a general overview was being given. The moult patterns of crossbills can at times be useful in diagnosis as can the temporal presence of streaked juveniles, though some overlap can occur. There were a few comments on Parrot Crossbill and Scottish Crossbill that I found puzzling and one which I challenge. Mr. Stoddart warns and fears of another irruption of Parrot Crossbill where he “[see’s] a future plagued by arguments over digital photographs and whether the bills ‘look big enough’.” Personally I don’t see a problem with this – it seems to happen with other rarities and anyway separation of Parrot Crossbill from Common Crossbill in any location is relatively straightforward in the vast majority of cases. However, regarding Scottish Crossbill I do not understand why a photograph of a perched Parrot ‘type’ bird was used in the final page montage. If one compares it to the Finnish Parrot directly to its left, to me the bill structures look similar – the Scottish bird has its head and bill tucked down which gives a different postural appearance. I am confident if it was in the same posture as its neighbouring photograph the bill structures would look very similar eg. it is a Parrot Crossbill. I questioned photographer on the identification of the bird in this photograph at the time (2007) on Birdguides when it was posted and received no reply as to the methods of its identification eg. presumably no sound recording. Given that, in my opinion, the vast majority of photographs of ‘Scottish Crossbills’ on the web and in even in some publications (some who should know better) appear to be Parrot type crossbills this action actaully compounds and perpetuates this situation further rather than improves it. I also think the rather flippant comment “this species [Scottish Crossbill] – assuming it is one” is very unhelpful and possibly a tad cavalier. Scottish Crossbill IS regarded a full species by BOU following scientific research by several different workers - like particular laws some people may not like this fact but it is what it is and again the article perpetuates the scenario of “it’s not a real species” comments on the Birding ‘web’ which almost seem to ‘self prophesize’. When Mr. Callahan contacted me for his article I sent him several photographs of Scottish and Parrot Crossbills both ‘in hand’ and ‘in situ’. These birds were either identified by biometric measurements (and sightings of known colour ringed birds) and/or sonogram analysis of flight/alarm call and thus have some provenance regarding speciation. I would have been happy for any of these to be used in the present article by Mr. Stoddart and indeed could have offered more in the knowledge that an article can cite such facts to thoroughly inform readers and birders. I was not contacted. There are no such facts or information provided for any of the photographs in the article so how do we know how these birds were identified ? This needs to change or the problems that Mr. Soddart indentifies will merely continue to be perpetuated.

On the subject of vocalisations, an area of particular interest to my own studies, I have to raise several points. The article raises the question of whether the key to Parrot Crossbill identification lies in the diagnostic recognition of its vocalisations. Well, this is certainly extensively documented so yes it is diagnostic. But as someone who primarily studies Parrot Crossbills here in Scotland I take major issue (and even offence) at the statement “ ..but few-if any- British birders will be well practised in this art”. As someone who can confidently (and accurately) classify crossbill calls to type or species by ear (where they are classified calls) I invite Mr. Stoddart to come out into the field with me some time to bear witness! Perhaps I wouldn't be regarded a 'birder' ? ! There is also another statement that perhaps shows a lack of understanding of the situation : “Following Robb’s elucidation of the different call types, it is clear that several of these at least are resident or reaching Britain, but a precise elucidation of their status remains a long way off”. Again, there are existing publications and articles which show distribution of Common Crossbill call types, origin of sampled birds using stable isotope techniques and there is work in the pipeline by myself and other workers concerning Common Crossbill call distribution and biometric classification.

A Crossbill being ringed and processed.......it is being done in UK, honest !

The last point, and arguably the most important, is that the article seriously underestimated the fact that there are already quite a lot of people in the UK sound recording crossbills, either seriously or casually. Two weeks ago I was sent a crossbill call recorded in Glenmore of a call 'type' that I hadn't seen before - sounded quite Scottishy but most likely a variant Parrot call (possibly even a bird call syncing to a Scottish mate - it looked like a blatant Parrot in the photo). This call was recorded by someone visiting the area on holiday from England. I receive many such communications and correspond with recordists as much as I can. Some of these correspondences are actually on this blog - I am not sure if Mr. Stoddart is aware of Loxia Fantastica, but 20 odd thousand other people are...........

New Scottish Flight Call......discovered by actually going out and looking !

So, whilst a potentially interesting opportunity to discuss the Loxia complex, for me the article was a bit of a disappointment and I say this as a fully paid subscriber to the magazine first and as a crossbill researcher second - it wasn't a case of "New Challenges" but rather "Old Hat" or "Business as usual" for some of us !

Toop, Toop, Choop, Choop !

2011-03-26T02:01:00.002Z

No, I haven't lost my mind, but rather a short discussion of phonetic crossbill calls ! I get many references in emails describing crossbill calls in the field using phonetic descriptions. Most existing phonetic descriptions in the crossbill literature, other than those by Magnus and Sound Approach, are errant or misleading in my opinion, particularly for Loxia scotica. They also may not reflect the 'current' evidence either. Actual audio recordings are preferable, however the following may offer some clues in separating Parrot Crossbill from Scottish Crossbill in the field.

Parrot Crossbill

Flight Calls are a distinct "Choop" or "Chup", emphasis on the "oo" or "u". These can also sound 'flutey' (a term often wrongly used to describe Scottish flight calls) due to a pronounced harmonic that is often present ( and which can make them appear on sonagrams like published Scottish flight calls). Birds may also give a more subdued "tip, tip, tip" call when in 'cryptic' flight (similar to those given by Bullfinch). They sometimes give these on release after being captured and ringed. These can appear as single descending streaks on sonagrams.

Excitement calls are a lower pitched (than flight calls) 'cluck' reminscent of a Blackbird alarm call, or more closely a Jackdaw (and between the two in 'pitch' and timbre). Aurally, Parrot excitement calls sound very similar to Common Crossbill EcA ( or "British" ala Sound Approach) and it takes much experience to separate them by ear in the field. In such cases a look at the bill should help diagnosis, but not always it would appear !

Scottish Crossbill

Recent evidence that I have collected and matched with biometrics shows intermediate billed (Scottish) give a 'di-syllabic' flight call sounding as a "t-reep" or sometimes a 'lispy' "th-reep". This is much higher pitched than Parrot flight call and in fact can not be confused aurally with ANY commonly occuring Loxia in the UK ! NB. THESE CALLS ARE DIFFERENT FROM THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED !

Scottish excitement calls are much more 'hollow' than Parrot Crossbill, and sound like a "tonk, tonk" or "tunk, tunk" - I think it sounds more stacatto (abbreviated) than Parrot and timbrally similar to wooden claves or woodblocks being struck (for any would be percussionists out there !). In the field it is VERY similar in tonal and timbral quality to Common Crossbill EcE or "glip" excitement call, especially if the harmonics are less pronounced ( which makes the call look very similar on a sonagram too !). This is a RARE call, by far my rarest recorded Crossbill Excitement call, suggesting this call, like the flight call, may be in a state of flux - time will tell.

One word of caution. Often people describe large-billed crossbills giving very 'deep calls'. In cases like this, assuming they are correct, they are describing Parrot Crossbills as both Scottish flight and excitement call are higher pitched than Parrot, and typically much more like those for Common Crossbill. It is worth reiterating that 90% of photos I am sent or see on the web of presumed 'Scottish Crossbills' are in fact actually Parrot Crossbills (in my experience) ! My advice: leave the camera at home, buy a mic and recorder, think about the above, and learn about the vocal dialects of the crossbills in your area.

I Don't Just Do Crossbills !

2011-03-11T14:26:00.001Z

As many readers may know House Sparrow numbers are in sharp decline and the species is now Red listed. In my own garden in central Aberdeen I used to get up to about 60 at once but here too the numbers seem to have decreased in the last few years, and there is maybe a population of around 40 to maybe 60 in the area. Last year I know that they had several broods so juvenile survival must be very poor, either that or the birds are dispersing locally. I have ringed about 90 House Sparrows (with little effort) and have so far only had two retraps, and reckon at the moment there are only two or three metal ringed birds visiting.

So, I have just started a RAS project organized and sanctioned through the BTO to study my local House Sparrow population - RAS stands for ' retrapping adults for survival'. By colour-ringing the birds and reading the combinations in the field it is possible to get 're-traps' without physically re-catching the birds. By ringing enough birds and by getting as many re-sightings of individuals as possible we can deduce the mortality within the population. Over and above this I am going to colour ring as many of the newly fledged juvenile birds as possible to try and work out some numbers for juvenile mortality (and the time scale of this), as well as measuring any localised dispersal. The presumption is that the Sparrows will continue to visit the feeders so should be seen again (if they are not predated or die from disease). Dispersal can be measured by checking feeders and Sparrow perching sites in the neighbourhood. Disease may also be a significant factor in mortality- I rescued a male House Sparrow in December last year suffering from avian botulism, but sadly this bird expired ( horrible stuff, I hope none of you have to deal with that). I should add that this bird was a mile from my house so not my feeding regime causing the problem.

The bird in the photo is an adult male A01, now getting the distictive black bill of the breeding season. I am using Interrex acrylic rings designed and manufactured in Poland. The rings are sealed with cement to safely secure them and to prevent removal and are fitted so they can't extend below on to the foot or above the tarsus 'knee' joint. They are easily read with binoculars on perching birds ( when facing the right way !) or can be image grabbed from digital photo sequences.

I know many birders don't rate Sparrow but I can't understand this - they are very 'happy' social finches, the males striking when in breeding plumage and I for one can't imagine the dull silence that would prevail if there were no House Sparrows chirping in my garden. Let's hope the streets and fields don't fall silent.

Ground Control To Major Tom...What Gear Do You Use ?

2011-03-03T12:23:00.001Z

Contact details have been added in my profile on the right. This is for use of any genuine enquiries and for colleagues who have been unable to get me at my old email address eg. Ringers, crossbill sound recordists, birders in Northern Isles who are sighting and collecting crossbill call data, people with dead or injured crossbills, or people with sightings of colour-ringed crossbills.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints I can't respond to general enquiries about crossbills or location requests for Parrot and Scottish Crossbill. This includes identifications from photographs so please don't send any - sorry. Such emails will not be responded to so to avoid potential offence please don't waste time writing them ! I also can't spend time writing extensive emails advising on sound recording equipment - I recently did such an email to an RSPB researcher, took me an hour and I didn't even get a reply saying "thanks" so no more I am afraid. There is now plenty info on the web on this, but for those interested I have used the following since 2006:

Telinga Stereo DAT and Twin Science Microphones
Telinga Pro 6 Handle
Fostex FR2LE recorder
Fostex FR2 recorder
Sennheiser ME67 (occasionally)
Sennheiser ME62 (occasionally)
Sony MZNH900 Mini disc recorder (with Telinga Power Box)
Sony MZRH1 Mini disc recorder
Beyer Dynamic DT990 'phones
Raven Lite and Raven Pro Software
Adobe Audition Sound Editing Suite
Misc Leads and connectors from FEL Communications http://www.felmicamps.co.uk/ (excellent stuff btw guys)

Quite an arsenal when you see it written down.....

Sorry I can't respond to every enquiry but I do also have a job running my own business as well studying crossbills in any spare time !

Loxiafan.

Contact Details

2011-01-16T15:14:00.000Z

I changed ISP provider some time ago, and although I thought all my mail was being forwarded, including from other sub-accounts, it has been brought to my attention recently that this is not the case ! So, if you have contacted me over the last year and have had no reply from me please accept my apologies, but I have not received your mail. Some have got through, however, so it appears sporadic depending on which route the mail is forwarded.

I will be putting updated contact details on here soon, possibly a specific hotmail account. However, I am very wary of doing this as I will no doubt receive requests for information on where to see Scottish and Parrot Crossbills, as well as general Spam ! I NEVER give out this specific information as these locations are sites where I or two of my colleagues in Grampian Ringing Group ring Crossbills and are thus very sensitive. So to avoid potential offence (by being ignored) please do not ask for this !

I can also be reached on (ahem!) BurdForum - I keep a very limited profile on there specifically to gather and respond to Waxwing colour-ring sightings on behalf of GRG. My handle is "Bombycilla". Please note I rarely log-in to pick up PM but the email address on there does appear to work. Now I have put this out, I will probably be banned again....... I also have limited presence on Twitter ( see column to the right).

Coming soon on LF, a short article on Crossbill Wing Moult:

What A Load of Bull !

2010-12-25T00:16:00.005Z

Following on from the post several days ago I have now got some pics, audio and revelations to share about 'unusual' Bullfinches....or perhaps just 'Bullfinches'. Might be worth reading Mark Lewis' recent post on his 'funny' Bullfinch as well.

It is worth re-iterating here that not ALL Northern Bullfinches give trumpet calls - there is another type that sounds very like our British sub-species pileata.

Okay, here goes, lots of pics, sonograms and audio ( a first for Loxia Fantastica) !

Wednesday 22 December 2010

We managed to find 3 Bullfinches feeding on nettles at the same location a the previous day. They were all males, including this 1st Winter bird:

The photograph shows it has only replaced an innermost greater covert ( grey-white tipped contrasting with buffy tipped ones). Interestingly, like the bird yesterday ( most likey an adult following reappraisal) this specimen also has a white edge to P9 (outermost large) and the other adjacent PP are edged white below the emarginations. Notice that is has the 'stuck on' beak rather than the 'howker' that Northern birds would have ( however, the bird is puffed up which could diminish the proporations of the mandibles). There is a pale line beneath the eye.

Also present was this larger, bright male:

The alula looks like it might have grey-white edging so possibly and adult. The outer-most greater coverts, although not extensive in their white-grey tips, nevertheless appear more adult than short, buff juvenile ones ? Like the juvenile above, this specimen also has the white edging (quite extensive) to P9 and the adjacent inner PP are also white edged on the emarginations:

And here too:

That outer greater covert looks a bit dodgy in this pic ( but still too extensively grey-white tipped - possibly a retained adult feather ?). Alula looks very brown here as well - again adult retained or possibly juvenile ? If it is a 1st winter bird it has undergone an extensive post-juvenile moult (unlike the first bird above). Based on this and these other features I'm sticking with adult. Pale line under the eye with this one too - is this as a result of the feather tracts being displaced by the bird puffing up ? Mark's last post mentions primary projections - not sure how consistent that would be in the field but possibly useful enough to distiguish between pileata and pyrrhula combined when with other factors. On that basis, these two have short primary projections consistent with pileata.

The birds were not very vocal but I did manage to get some recordings (with Sennheiser ME67 and Fostex FR2). This recording has "tip" contact calls ( often given in flight or pre-flight), some "pee-u" calls and near the end a "buzzy" toot call ( not like Northern, but similarish):

A14h18m30s22dec2010y by Loxiafan

A sonogram of the muted contact calls and a typical (?) pileata "pee-u" (timings don't necessarily match the events on the recordings):

Notice the strange component under the main descending note ?

From the same recording here is the muted contact call followed by a single buzzy whistle note ( appearing as a horizontal line on the sonogram below):

The other decent recording I got had pileata type contact calls:

A14h32m15s22dec2010y by Loxiafan

On the sonogram these appeared to be two elements super-imposed over each other, but nevertheless giving the pileata descending structure:

So, a summary of birds seen this day (3 males):

All three had white edged primaries.
All had "stuck on" bills.
None had white on tail.
None gave 'trumpet' calls, or it seems the other 'Northern' type call ( which is similar to pileata but lower piched and more 'mournful' sounding - think Chaffinch v. Willow Warbler).

= none were pyrrhula !

The Pennington/Meek BB article is quite right to highlight some of these shared traits between pileata and pyrrhula, and what might otherwise on first reading seem like a conservative possibly non-commital paper actually turns out to be a very well researched, useful and accurate essay on the type. Get it if you don't already have it.

The big question is: was one of these birds from today the big 'tooting' male we saw on Tuesday ? Well, read on...

Thursday 23rd December

This started off with good intentions by taking the Remembird (except it switched itself off, without me knowing so no recordings - amatuerish, I know). Found 3 males at a different location and was able to ID the juvenile male as the same one as yesterday ( due to a plumage feature on the flank). These birds allowed me to get withing 4 feet of them feeding on nettles - very confiding, or just very cold and hungry to otherwise give a damn ?

Friday 24th December

After yesterday's er... equipment failure time for the nuclear option: Telinga Stereo DAT and FR2LE, the major crossbill gear. We found three birds at the same location I had them yesterday, but this time there was a juv female in tow with two males, so not the same 3 but possibly two of them.

Things started of promisingly, the juv begging for food and then these "sotto voce" toot calls (at 6 seconds on recording):

B14h52m37s24dec2010a by Loxiafan

On the sonogram these appear as horizontal flat lines, have harmonics but unfortunately don't sound like Northern trumpet calls, being higher pitched and different in timbre:

Could these be the same sotto voce tooty "honking" calls we heard from the bird on Tuesday ? Possibly. Are these calls being heard by other observers and being confused for Northern trumpeters ? I don't know, but possibly.

However, the big male then called and this was pileata-like, but didn't sound quite right - on the sonogram directly underneath you can see the component under the main element, and again this call has harmonics un-like those presented and described in the Sound Approach for 'British':

B14h52m37s24dec2010b by Loxiafan

Notice that the first call (on sonagram) sounds slightly nore 'mournful' but the other two are shorter and deeper in pitch.

The group also gave "tip" flight calls:

B14h54m09s24dec2010 by Loxiafan

Also some pileata type calls, softer in timbre:

B15h08m24s24dec2010 by Loxiafan

Nice of a passer-by to let me know I was recording Bullfinches....I'd never have known. Thanks !

And this (also from above recording) a more exagerated call, and check those mini harmonic structures within the call (click to enlarge) :

One of the males gave this call:

B15h10m39s24dec2010 by Loxiafan

Notice that these are again double element calls, and have very strong harmonics. Is this normal in pileata ?

The adult male gave these same calls:

B15h13m32s24dec2010 by Loxiafan

Again, these have double elements (which make the call sound flutey) and the harmonics also give it a hollow timbre. These do not sound like any of the various Bullfinch calls I have been listening to on-line and on the CD's I have. I am not claiming it is a new type, merely commenting on the apparent variation that seems evident here.

So, where does this leave us all ? Well, for me, wishing I was out recording some crossbills ! Funnily enough I was surprised by how many of the Bullfinch calls were crossbill-like !There seems a lot of variation in Bullfinch calls considering I am recording a very small population within a stones throw of my house. I am >95% certain the Bullfinches I have observed and recorded over the last few days are British pileata types. The large male on Tuesday gave a call similar to those B1452 above - it was the only call we heard it give and it was very different from the bird "pee-u" ing next to it. With no recording of it to reference it is not a leap of imagination to deduce that on recall (from memory) it could be confused with those Northern trumpet calls, as it appeared to "toot" - I initially thought our bird on Tuesday sounded like the second type on CD2 track 95 of Sound Approach. Listening to a recording these sotto voce toot calls, assuming they are the same as the ones we heard (and didn't record), sound closer to the "second type" calls on the SA CD2 - track 98 but are quite different in timbre and pitch.

To sum up "All that glitters is not gold" and "All that 'toots' is not (necessarily) Northern" !

Would definitely appreciate feedback and comments and if anyone has heard British Bullfinch give these sotto voce toots or double-element variations to the main call. The former call seems intermittent though the bird above today gave several repetitions of the call. Could this call be being confused by other birders at trumpeters ? Given the 'overlap' of other features this may be a concern. Are they normal calls for pileata ?

It seems getting good field audio recordings may become a requirement for rarities commitees when considering Northern Bullfinch.......

.....I am glad I was conservative in my diagnosis on Tuesday !

Meantime, I think I'll stick to Crossbill vocalizations !

Merry Christmas to Everyone, hope it's a good one !

Northern Exposure and Northern Bullfinch ?

2010-12-21T21:57:00.000Z

The very bad recent snow has, just like last year, considerably hampered Crossbill activities so birding has been confined to whatever is withinin walking distance of the house. My last couple of local walks have produced several Bullfinches and Bramblings which is always nice in the absence of Waxwings (or Crossbills).

Today on the Old Deeside Railway Line by our house we had a male Bullfinch (British) pileata type "pee-u"-ing and feeding on dead nettles. Further along a female Brambling was associating with Chaffinches near to someones garden feeders (why do they go to someone elses feeders and not mine ? !). A walk through Allenvale Cemetery produced not at lot other than Common Buzzard being mobbed by gulls and crows.

We decided to go home back down the railway line and I am glad we did. WARNING ! - there are some photos to follow and I must add that they are not great quality having been shot in poor light with a consumer compact, however, they do show the diagnostic features that I would like to discuss.

The first bird we saw on the way back was another small pileata British type male Bullfinch with a narrow wing bars and giving the soft Brit "pee-u" call. However, it was associating with this striking male, and the first thing that alerted me something was different was the size, very obvious seeing the two birds together - this male appeared massive compared to the male that was feeding nearby. I would liken it to a Common Crossbill v. Parrot Crossbill eg. a significant size difference. Here is the 'big' male:

All photos are as they came out of the camera - no contrast or colour editing has been carried out only a slight unsharp mask. This bird is clearly a 1st winter male - juvenile 'brownish' primary coverts and alula can be seen in the photo.The other thing that was noticeable in the field, and can be seen in the photo, was the fairly wide white wing bars on greater coverts, and that these were 'saw-toothed', as well as pinky breast and pale grey upperparts and white that extended well up on to the belly and a very white and extensive rump, all good indicators of Northern Bullfinch. The black 'cap' also appears not to extend so far back on to the nape, and consequently the grey nape appears more extensive. I am not sure if this is a feature of Northern Bullfinch but Mark Lewis photographed a bird that looks identical to our one at Girdleness - could it even be the same individual ? ! :

© MarkLewis 2010

A much better photo than ours - hope it's okay 'borrowing' it Mark ! Possibly our one doesn't have quite as 'saw-toothed' greater coverts and there is a deeper black chin bib on ours, but the 'cap' looks the same and Mark's also looks like a 1st Winter male. Ours maybe has more grey around nape, though this could just be the angle ?

On getting home I dug out the comprehensive article on Northern Bullfinch invasion 2004 by Pennington and Meek and sat down to look at the photos that we had. For those that don't have the Pennington and Meek British Birds article (BB, January 2006, Vol.99) a good discussion of Northern Bullfinch features is available at http://www.abc.se/home/m4046/angarn/domherre/bullfinch.htm

White on primaries can also be good for Northern Bullfinch and ours seems to show this ( and see first photo above), click on photo to enlarge:

And here too ? :

Extensive white underparts may also indicate Northern Bullfinch, not sure if this would quailify, also check light pink breast:

Note the faint pale line under the black cap under the eye. Mark's bird also had this feature. The article I linked to above suggests this is a feature in some Northern birds - not sure of the source though. The white on the coverts doesn't look very wide as a result of the acute angle.

One more for luck:

It is also worth checking Martin Garner's fantastic blog that pushes back the frontiers of birding, and also Northern Bullfinch identification. Martin also has a recent article on Birdguides regarding Northern Bullfinch ID but I am no longer a subscriber (£40 a year !!) so I can't check it - maybe you can.

Calls

The bird (thankfully) did call, and this was very different from the soft "pee-u" that the (much smaller) bird it was accompanying gave. The big male gave a harsher, more "tooting" call in what we muso's would call sotto voce ("in an undertone"). I checked the recordings on the fantastic Sound Approach Book/CD when I got home a few minutes later and the calls our bird gave very closely matched those on track 95 CD2 - you should all have this book to have a listen, and if you don't you should ask Santa for it ! Trawling the internet I found calls HERE (for "trumpeting Northern Bullfinch") and these match what we heard today, if somewhat a bit more forced (than ours).

So, is this bird a Northern Bullfinch ? Well, like Mark I can only suggest it has some features and a call that seem consistent with pyrrhula, or at least a European Bullfinch eg. not British:

a) Large size, compared directly with smaller bird it was with.
b) Tooting call; very different from bird it was feeding with.
c) Wide wing bar with "sawtooth" edging on greater coverts; White edging on primaries.
d) Extensive white on underparts; extensive white rump.
e) Pink breast seems to match photos of the type.

Seeing the two Bullfinches together today this bird certainly had 'the presence' that pyrrhula is suggested as having and again we were able to hear the calls of both birds in the field, which were different, and thus compare them. I would certainly appreciate feedback, opinions on this bird ! Maybe it is just an 'inbetweeny' one ?

Tommorrow I will try to get better photos and more importantly decent sound recordings and will report back......maybe the results will be a surprise !

Watch Out ! 'Ere Comes The Old 'Bill ! EDITED

2010-12-17T23:05:00.001Z

Apologies for paucity of posting lately - catching waxwings, catching up with work, catching colds yada yada...

After my revelatory "new" Scottish Crossbill call announcement, which to my dismay has not yet featured on the front of "Time" magazine, "New Scientist" or the Graham Norton Show, I thought it would be helpful if I posted an 'old' Scottish Crossbill call (click to enlarge):

This flight call was recorded at Glen Tanar NNR on 8th August 2004 with my then trusty Monocor Shotgun mic direct to Sony 710-MD. This call is very much per the literature (Summers et al, 2002) in that it matches frequency and structure for Fc3 = Scottish Crossbill. Note that it appears to show the all important trailing element behind the main "up-down" components of the first element. This is the feature that is generally used to categorize scotica. However, it is very different in visual spectogram appearance and in sound to the 'new' type one I posted on here ( a few posts down). The "new" call is higher piched and the second element is usually higher in energy than in the "old" one. It is as if the call has evolved ....or perhaps it is the crossbills that have evolved ? !

My view ? Well I am not for one minute saying that the example of the "old" Scottish Crossbill from Glen Tanar is not a 'Scottish Crossbill'....except that it seems consistent with birds that I have handled and sound recorded that would be classified as Parrot Crossbill, albeit at the lower spectrum of minimum bill depths (11.9 mm upwards). It also doesn't sound like the 'new' call types ( which appear to biometrically match scotica) - if we take away the second element, which possibly appears to be a harmonic trace of the main call, what we effectively have is a Parrot Crossbill call = Fc2, in fact many caught and released Parrots give a call that contains these type of 'traces':

Not all Parrot Fc's are inflected in the main downward component ! The harmonics here are admittedly much fainter than the Glen Tanar example above, but in terms of sound this is negligible (compared with the new Scottish call). In Parrot, most of the energy is in the main downward component of the first element and it is this, and the lower overall frequency, that avoid confusion with the Fc1 variant I call the "parroty" Fc1. Here is a Common Crossbill call, a Fc1 "Parroty" type that also contains the harmonic artefact:

In essence the'trace' element appears and sounds as an artefact not a feature of the call. In the 'new' Scottish call the second element cannot be a 'harmonic trace' because, if you look at it closely, it modulates whereas the intial element (that it would be tracing) doesn't:

This may be as a consequence of the bird using its double syrinx ? You can really see that these calls look nothing like anything else on this page ! I should add, that although I refer to these particular Scottish calls as 'new' I have actually recorded them since 2004, they are new in that they don't seem to have been described proviously and certainly not matched to biometrics. In the 'new' call the second element functions as a feature of the call, ideed it is the most important structure in giving the call its particular timbre and resonance. To me, this new call sounds completely different, and more importantly it matches the bios and ecology of Scottish Crossbill. However, some Common Crossbills here in Scotland may also give di-syllabic calls that closely resemble these 'new' Scotbill types - the clincher here seems to be that the second element is higher in frequency in relation to the first element with Scottish, though this is pers.obs based on in the hand bios. Time will tell. A final word on harmonics if you use fine microphones ( I use Telinga Stereo DAT, Twin Science and Sennheiser ME67) these harmonics are usually more apparent, especially at closer distances.

So, rather appropriately for this time of year "in with the new out with old" ? But remember folks, I am the one that thinks that the (Scottish) Parrot Crossbills are the REAL (relict) Scottish Crossbills, so I don't know where that leaves us with regards to "old" and "new" 'Scottish Crossbills' that currently occur in NE Scotland ? Perhaps they are emerging "species" or morphotypes (is that a real word) ?

Next up, a discussion (including audio examples !) of variant Common Crossbill Fc1's as this really needs addressing.

© Lindsay Cargill 2010, 2009, 2004

Waxy-Tastic !

2010-11-13T16:05:00.001Z

As most readers will know there has been a big influx of these fantastic winter vistors over the last few weeks with numbers soaring to the thousands and widespread distribution. As members of Grampian Ring Group we are pre-conditioned to target these birds as Aberdeen is the Waxwing capital of the UK and by colour-ringing the birds we get fantastic re-sightings that describe the movements of these berry munchers (without the need to re-trap them). Birders and photographers seem to like the winter challenge of checking birds for rings so this is a mutually beneficial activity.You could also add to this that Waxwings are simply fantastic birds to handle and work with, so you can see that we don't need to be asked !

I am perfectly placed as I live right next to a city cemetery that attracts Waxwings in numbers, and often can see hundreds wheeling about out of my back window, and occasionally in the trees at the bottom of the garden. Last year was a no go for me as there were no birds at the site, but I was hopeful this year given reports in advance from the Northern Isles and Scandanavia.

On Friday 29th October I speculatively set up a fixed net at a preferred feeding tree and caught a single Waxwing within two minutes, the first mainland caught and colour-ringed bird for the winter. This tree was literally 100 yards from my back door !

On Sunday 31st October myself and a couple of other Grampian ringers caught 43 Waxwings at the same tree, and other GRG members caught 15 elsewhere and 43 at Ballater the previous day, so quite a haul and great team effort !

Numbers of birds increased and by Tuesday 2nd November there were over 1000 at Kincorth, south of the river Dee. This was quite some sight especially when they were in the air ! With up to 400 visiting the cemetery efforts continued from Tuesday 2nd through to Saturday 5th with a further 49 Waxwings caught in the south of the city near my house. Undoubtedly, the highlight on Friday 5th was this Swedish ringed juvenile (which we subsequently colour-ringed Left Leg Orange-Lime-Orange):

This is apparently only the third Swedish control for the UK ( Riksmuseum have been contacted with catching details but I am still awaiting information as it appears a recently ringed bird). It was the first bird caught on a slow morning though we went on to catch another 16 and a very reddy-brown female Sparrowhawk ( that chased a Waxwing in to the net before it too got caught - both unharmed). This Swedish ringed bird, like approx 90% of the birds we have caught, was a juvenile in its first winter:

Sadly, on Thursday evening I was informed that this bird had been found dead on 10th November after striking a window about 3 miles North of where it was ringed. Waxwings are apparently notorious for flying in panic into windows and strikes are a common occurence, often resulting in death. We were all looking forward to receiving sightings of this bird as it made its way south over the winter and the fact that it is a Swedish ringed bird would have no doubt created more interest. Oh well, such is life.

We have continued to catch on a limited basis this week and managed another 9 birds over two mornings - much harder going as the flocks have dispersed and the birds change feeding trees. So my total (on my rings) is 102 from the overall current total of 205 birds GRG have caught to date which is a pretty good total. This should result in numerous reports of colour-ringed birds as they move through the country so do keep checking and report sightings to us via our site at:
http://grampianringing.blogspot.com/.

Thanks to Euan, Callum, Walter and Derek (who came all the way up from Fife !) for help catching and processing birds over the last two weeks.

Scottish and Parrot Crossbill Catch and Variant Calls, Tuesday 12th October

2010-10-19T21:30:00.000+01:00

After all the wet and windy weather in September (frustratingly coinciding with my days off) finally some moderate sucess ! With light winds and an overnight frost, ringing conditions were favourable and at 12.30pm this cracking female was caught at one of my drinking pools in upper Deeside:

This bird, an adult female had nearly finished its primary wing moult up to P9, though interestingly no secondaries had started moulting yet, and was aged as a 4F ( female hatched before current calendar year). I am beginning to think that some Parrot and Scottish Crossbills don't moult all (or possibly in rare occasions any?) of their secondaries depending on when they finish breeding ? The only other possibility is that it could have been a second year bird that has had an extensive post-juvenile moult where it has replaced it's primaries, but not the secondaries. However, the lack of any old (juvenile) greater coverts, adult type alula and and adult primary coverts discounted this possibility.The minimum bill depth was bang on for Parrot type. It was also 'big-headed' in the hand and was over 50g in weight (typical for Parrot Crossbill). However, though this bird gave a classic Parrot flight call on release (Fc2) it's excitement call (which it gave when it landed) sounded more like Scottish Crossbill ! Indeed, on the sonagram the excitement call (or toop) was somewhere between Parrot and Scottish Crossbill.

So, should we all be concerned by this anomaly and earnestly start burning our copies of "Sound Approach" and "Summers et al (2002)" ? Well no, hold off on the matches and lighter fuel, at least until I offer this explanation. To start with, a fact - Crossbills are social finches, and social finches, have been known to 'learn' calls (see Mundinger). Variant calls, or more specifically a call that appears to contain features of two crossbill types, do not necessarily infer that the individual giving it is of that mixed parental lineage eg. a hybrid. I think it is way too simplistic or convenient to say that because a call appears "half Parrot and half Scottish" on a sonagram that this explains the provance of the bird. The 'white-coats' (crossbill speciation sceptics who constantly cite the lack of gentic divergence between the forms ) as well as cynical crossbill call sceptics will love this bird that I caught - it gave two calls, or a mixture of two, so which call gets precedence, Scottish or Parrot ? How can I call it Parrot when it gave a Scottish type call ? Well, as I said the excitement call had features of both Parrot and Scottish - to me it sounded Scottish-ish, especially the short duration harmonics, but the fundamental note (the lowest note) could easily be interpreted as Parrot in shape. The flight call was a stone-waller Parrot - a big resounding "Ch-oop". If we are going to discuss which calls are more useful diagnostically, flight calls or excitement calls, then I would say flight calls, for two reasons, though this hasn't always been my position:

1) In my studies of the new "Scottish" type calls that appears to have emerged since the last big studies in the 1990's, but picked up by me when I started recording in 2004, I have noticed that the coresponding excitement calls (Ec's) are quite variable - some look like normal Scottish EcC (excitement call C) with typically only one harmonic and the main note either being inflected or not, whilst others give a cross between EcA and EcD, both Common and Parrot type calls respectively. Biometrics collected through catching and ringing individuals have proven the intermediate bill depths of this 'new' call type are consistent with Scottish Crossbill. More on this exciting stuff soon !

2) In the USA, flight calls are apparently considered more diagnostic than excitement calls. In a recent exchange of emails with Matt Young at Cornell late last year, Matt re-iterated this situation to me and asked me what "we" used in preference diagnostically on this side of the pond. "Excitement Calls" was my answer, though this answer was mostly 'conditioned' by the European crossbill literature, and in particular the work previously conducted in Scotland. I then thought about the situation with these new Scottish calls where I was struggling to reconcile matching Fcs to Ec's (in known individuals) and viola, the excitement calls are variable, but the flight calls are (relatively) consistent !

The reason that excitement calls appear to be variable may well be down to the context that they are given - these calls are given in various states of aggrevation and threat, from other crossbills, competitors (such as Siskins) or potential predators, as well as at the nest for various reasons. Excitement calls can also sound quite similar between the species - compare EcA (common) with EcD (parrot) and also EcC (scottish) with EcE (common), they are very similar and are easily confusable by ear. I don't think we fully understand the mechanisms of this yet, which may well affect our interpretation. However, an excitement call, or toop, functions universally amongst crossbills to say " I am not chuffed", "watch out" or "get off" and may vary accordingly, but will presumably be understood across 'species'. The flight calls, on the other hand, are given as contact calls within a flock and would presumably need to be recognizabe to other members of that flock to communicate where to feed and when to leave to feed (or drink) and also for lone birds to locate where flock members are feeding or are safe (eg. on release after being trapped !). These too may be contextual, which may explain subtle variation, for example harmonics are produced with increased amplitude eg. when the bird is in an an excited state and these harmonics can effect the appearance of the call on a sonagram, and may even result in a wrong diagnosis. This said, it does seem that flight calls are perhaps more consistent based on retrap crossbills and ones in situ that have been repeat sound recorded.

So, the bird above I can happily call a Parrot rather than Scottish on:

a) Size, bill depth and bill structure. The Scottish types are over a milimetre less in bill depth, which is overall usually more rectangular, and are up to around 10 grams lighter.

b) Flight call. The Scottish type birds, particularly the "new" ones, give a completely different call. This one gave a Parrot call.

The next bird caught was a re-trap male colour-ringed Parrot Crossbill (initially ringed in 2006, but retrapped by me in 2009):

Thankfully, my bios matched (though 0.1mm bigger in bill depth this time - pine resin ? !) and even more thankfully it gave the same flight call it gave in 2006, 2009 and now 2010 ! Although it is frustrating not to get some new rings on a caught bird, these retraps do give extremely important call and moult data can be compared to with previous years, for example I can compare the stage of moult of this bird with exactly a year previously.

The last two birds were caught at 4.15 pm just as was about to take the net down (having already taken down one net due to an increasing breeze). One was an unringed Scottish female and the other a retrap colour-ringed Scottish male (caught by me in October 2009).

I metal ringed and colour-ringed the female first:

This is a 'classic' Scottish bill profile, intermediate in bill depth and rectangular in shape. Doesn't it look more like a common Crossbill than a Parrot ? ! This female, an adult, was more than half way through her post breeding primary moult but with the secondaries all old. Most exciting for me is that the flight call it gave was one of the 'new' types, different from the published ones. So, a very valuable bird.

An example of the "new" Scottish flight call from a trapped and released colour-ringed bird in 2009:

Unlike the flight calls previously described for Scottish Crossbill these flight calls have a trailing component that is as strong, or stronger, than the intial one ( the opposite of previous Scottish). They also sound very different, more like a "ti-reep", the second syllable being more pronounced. I have recorded these in Deeside since 2004 and elsewhere since. A more detailed preview and summary on these new calls will follow on here soon and I hope to publish the results - I now have my own biometrics and as far as I know this is the only complete data set that has calls to match bios for this 'type' as well as breeding and feeding data.

The male had a slightly smaller bill depth than the female, but still Scottish in characteristic:

Don't worry I wasn't catching crossbills in the dark - it was only 16:30 but the sun, though still high, had gone behind the tall mountains and I had to shoot on flash to get any contrast or colour detail ! This bird didn't call on release ( some don't) but in 2009 it gave the 'new' Scottish type flight call.

New articles and preview of publications coming up soon including Parrot Crossbills feeding on Larch, New Scottish Calls (!!) and field identification of Parrot and Scottish Crossbill for birders........keep tuned and tell your friends.

© Lindsay Cargill 2010

Parrot Crossbill Predation

2010-10-08T12:01:00.011+01:00

Eurasian Pygmy Owl and Parrot Crossbill (from http://niaolei.org.cn/posts/10555)

I thought that photo might get your attention ! No not from my Deeside site but rather somwhere colder and much further East ! Apologies to the anonymous photographer (as no name was attached to it) but I have linked to the original website.

Crossbills are strange birds; they are very wary when coming down to the ground to drink, get grit or bones (for calcium) yet when they are feeding in trees you can stand only a few feet from them and they are oblivious to your presence (helpful for reading rings !).

Even with my 1000's of hours field time I have never witnessed Crossbill predation per se eg. an actual kill, though I have observed unsucessful attempts by Sparrowhawks on several occasions, and Merlins (twice), both aimed at Parrot Crossbill flocks. Clearly Pygmy Owls have some adaptation for catching Parrot Crossbills ! Predation by avian predators it would seem is a rare occurence.

In Scotland there are several species that can predate Crossbill nests (eggs and nestling predation): Red Squirrel (Greys don't tend to occur in Pine Crossbill habitats), Corvids, Pine Marten, Great Spotted Woodpecker (and Green Woodpecker at one of my sites) and Sparrowhawk ( I have witnessed the latter though the chicks successfully 'exploded' and evaded predation). However, this said, the severity of the weather, particularly wet, snow and wind combined with the availability of cones (and how 'open' the cones are) will have far more impact on productivity than all the predators combined.

"Last Catch", 30th August 2010

2010-10-01T01:16:00.000+01:00

This is my last catch of crossbills, from August 30th in upper Deeside. I caught two Common Crossbills (and a Meadow Pipit !), that were lured in to the vicinity of the drinking pool with a taped call - they were trapped in an area of natural/semi-natural Scots Pine. Common Crossbills have been present, feeding on the pines (which are closed) and nearby Larch and Spruce for the last two months:

Female Common Crossbill

Common Crossbills are usually fairly recognizable in the hand being much smaller bodied than Parrots and a bit smaller than Scottish. The key measrement however is bill depth. This one was quite big with a minimum bill depth of 10.6 mm but still well within range for Common Crossbill.

Common Crossbills can sometimes be difficult to age precisely due to an extensive breeding season that can last most of a calendar year (depending on cone/seed availability) and also due to the fact that some suspend their moult (if irrupting and/or breeding in their 2cy) whilst other juvenile 1/2 cy's can have extensive or erratic post juvenile moult - though the former will still often show 3 generations (or ages) of feather and can be aged quite easily. Another factor is that crossbill 'years' don't necessarily conform to our calender years eg. January to December, and as such the age codes ringers use may not conform like they do for other bird species. The dead crossbills that Dougie Preston sent me from the 2009 invasion had examples of arrested or suspended post juvenile moult - these will feature in a later post.

The female had adult type wing feathers that were quite worn, no old (or juvenile) greater coverts so was aged as a Euring Age 4 or a 4F. She had also replaced two primary coverts (indicated below, and much darker than the older feathers):

Moulting Primaries and Primary Coverts

One of the associated primaries P1, slightly darker than the older feathers, was nearly fully grown and the other was just coming in so this bird appeared to be active wing moult. Another useful ageing criteria was provided by Jenni and Winkler's fantastic Moult book which states that Common Crossbills never replace PC1 and PC2 (primary coverts 1 and 2) or even PC3 as part of their post juvenile moult so the age of a Euring 4 ( born before the present calendar year is safe). This female also had a brood patch score of 4 meaning she must have bred some time over the Summer and would explain the commencement of wing moult with the first two inner primaries.

The male's bill depth was 0.1mm bigger - positive assortative mating ? ! This bird was also in wing moult with two new primaries and associated primary coverts. Quite a big billed curvirostra, though overall bill is 'rectangular', culmen is not steeply downcurved and the tip of the lower mandible is at a shallow upward incline:

Male Common Crossbill

Notice how the bill appears big relative to the size of the head (which was small) ? After releasing the two birds one after the other, and recording their flight calls (both Common type Fc's) I noticed a colour ringed crossbill feeding in a Scots Pine tree right by the ringing station. I got the scope out and it took some time to get the positions of all 3 colours and the metal but I eventually confirmed it as Parrot Crossbill that was ringed 15/10/06 at the same site. This bird was on its own and I took the opportunity to collect and measure some of the cones it was foraging on. The first one it dropped was this cone:

Parrot Foraged Cone

The above cone resembles the shredded appearance of a Scots Pine cone that has been worked by a Scottish or Common Crossbill , yet the bird that foraged it was defintely a Parrot on bill depth and also flight call. So what gives ? Well, clearly like all things crossbill there is no definitive, and inconsitency and variation prevails ! I guess it depends on the structure of the individual cone as the bird then dropped a cone that was more typical of a Parrot foraged closed Scots Pine Cone:

Typical Split Parrot Foraged Cone

I have observed Parrot Crossbills only partly prising open certain cones many times so my conclusion is that crossbills cannot be identified with 100% certainty by examining the condition of the cones that they depredate, though for most birds this may be a safe assumption and is generally useful. Parrot Crossbills 'split' the cones by making an entrance to the scale with the culmen tip then 'working' that hole, by inserting the mandible then manipulating it through up to 90 degrees which then splits the scales - which is why Parrots are 'bull-necked' and have extremely well developed neck and cheek muscles. They will also sometimes literally 'peel' the scales. It is a bit of a 'domino effect' - once they have got one scale open the others are much easier. They will work a cone like this one for anything up to one and half two minutes at this time of year.

Hopefully when the wet and windy weather finally subsides I can get out and catch some more ! A more thorough review of Parrot feeding will appear in the future as I have scads of pictures of birds feeding, including some colour ringed Parrots feeding on Larch ( which apparently they don't feed on according to some authors !).

Culbin Sands, Sunday 22nd August

2010-09-03T22:43:00.000+01:00

Some of you may have gathered from my tweet that I was at Culbin Sands near Nairn a couple of Sundays ago. For those that don't know it Culbin is a massive Scots and Corsican Pine plantation on the sand dunes south of Nairn. It is home to Corsican Pines, Crested Tits, Scottish Crossbill and Southern Hawker (the target for the day). Below is just a brief summary of the day.

Spot The Corsican Pines ?

On arriving Common hawkers were patrolling the car park and there was an abundance of Scotch Argus butterflies which was a good start. All the way to the main Dragonfly pool Crested Tits were calling and we got great views - even one bathing at around 10 feet (though too shaded for a photo shot). I have heard recent reports of people missing Cresties at Culbin - my advice is to really familiarise yourself with the calls as you will hear birds long before you see them ( a bit like crossbills actually). With so many about you really would have to have been walking about blindfolded and ear plugs in not to have encountered them this day.

Arriving at the main pool Common Hawker males were patroling but within a minute or so a Southern Hawker male appeared followed by another and a dog fight ensued. S. Hawkers, very Common in England, are very scarce in Scotland and only seem to have a hold on this NE corner of Scotland - the area from Banff through to Beauly- and I understand that they are now dispersing South through the Great Glen and are at Fort William. Perhaps like other species of odonata they have been unintentionally ( or intentionally) introduced ?

Male Southern Hawker

We found a cracking Southern Hawker exuvia about 3m out from the bank on a stem. I decided it was worth getting my feet wet so waded out to claim it. It turned out to be a perfect female SH exuvia. More Cresties were calling and moving around the dragonfly pool, but suddenly a Crossbill flew over and Remembird recorded this:

Pants Common Crossbill Sonagram

Now, to my ears this sounded almost cross between a Fc4 (glip) type call and a Fc1 (parakeet), but this is not clear on the sonagram, where the call looks more Fc1 ish. However, though it looks like a Fc1 "parakeet" type ( or 1B) it is possibly slightly too low in frequency for most Fc1 calls and is similar in frequency to Parrot ! To be honest it is like many of the vague calls I get sent by other people and in those cases I often shrug my shoulders, so I am going to practise what I preach with this call I made and call it as "can't be sure" ! What I will say is that aurally ( in the field) it was not Parrot ( which I have much experience) and it sounded 'clippy' so possibly a Fc1 afterall, but just a low pitched one. I think if it was a Fc4 the last ypward component would have shown up.

On the way back to the car, we came across the massive catepillar for a Goat Moth scrabling about on the path:

Goat Moth Catepillar.....Yummy !

Apparently these are quite unusal and scarce so a lucky find. The other Dragonfly pool had 4 Spot Chasers Emeralds and Common Blues but no Common Darters which were present there last year.

If you are up in the Inverness area Culbin is very worth a visit and could easily produce Goshawk as well as the goodies we had. Definitely more Crested Tits than Abernethy from my experience.

Getting All Excited About Scottish Crossbill !

2010-07-28T23:56:00.002+01:00

I am in process of re-evaluating some of my early recordings for a couple of upcoming papers (finally), one of which is now drafted and just needs the supporting sonagrams and pictures compiled and added in. Raking through the material I came across this sonagram, probably one of my best ever of a Scottish Crossbill, recorded near its nest at Glen Tanar on 11th April 2005 ( yes I really have been doing this stuff since then ! EDIT: actually, since 2004):

Scottish Crossbill Excitement Call

A fantastically clear sonagram of a typical Excitement Call C (EcC) diagnostic of Scottish Crossbill per Summers et al, 2002. The really amazing thing is this was recorded with my Czech Monocor short gun microphone (which was as noisy as hell) and my first Mini Disc recorder a Sony MZ-710 ! Not a Telinga or Fostex in sight ! Just shows you what you can do with a bit of fieldcraft (and field time) and the right conditions ( there was no wind and the bird was alarming about 12 feet away from the mic). In those pre HiMD days I had to re-record ALL the tracks from the line out into Audio Lab via the computer and then process the sonagrams using a program called GRAM32.

I should add that this call type is now quite rare, having only recorded it in this form a few 'handful and footfall' times. Some interesting material regarding the call structures of Scottish Crossbills is imminent.....all is not what it seems, keep tuned.

Catching Pine Crossbills, Upper Deeside, 21st June 2010

2010-07-24T10:35:00.000+01:00

Crossbills are notoriously difficult to catch in order to ring as you cannot bait sites like you can for other finches - they are specialised to feed primarily on various pine cones and there are usually millions of them about so no joy there ! Usually crossbills are caught when they come in or out of drinking pools. I believe Dutch ringers use 'artificially' created drinking sites and also use caged decoy birds to lure crossbills in which sounds very efficient ( and interesting). Here in the Scotland we only tend to use sites that the crossbills themselves visit naturally on their own accord and we don't use decoys ( though an endorsement to allow this can be applied for). Many man hours can be spent finding and reconnoitring these sites which is why I, and others, are quite guarded about where we are operating and catching birds. Last year one of my pools was compromised twice by photographers (the worst kind of disturbance) so don't take offence if I don't disclose sites, it is nothing personal !

Crossbill's drink obviously to sustain themselves, however, there is also a more 'cultural' purpose to the process. The birds will often sit in a perching tree near to or directly above the pool and the dominant male will sit right on the crown of the tree, sometimes singing or preening. There is a 'pecking' order to how the bird are organised within the tree, with more dominant birds asserting their authority, and often these birds will drink first. One often finds that these birds may actually drink twice - I have observed this several times thanks to colour ringing individuals. However, sometimes extra keen juveniles bail in first and these are often caught more easily. I refer to such pools as 'cultural' pools that is they are long term historical drinking sites where social behaviour and interaction can be performed. This is opposed to sites where they drink 'ad hoc' or opportunistically eg. near to where they are feeding and are thirsty at a particular moment, a puddle below a tree for example. All of this makes them exceedingly difficult to catch in any sort of numbers.

Monday 21st June had near perfect conditions: warm. overcast, and very importantly, little wind. Whilst setting up at dawn several birds came in to one of the pools I was hoping to catch. I backed off and let them down to drink - they could be trapped later when they came back ! I set up two nets and settled down very nearby so that the nets could be monitored constantly.Only an hour had passed and I caught some birds, a family of Parrot Crossbills and a Siskin (other birds drink at crossbill pools). The Siskin was processed first and released quickly.

The male Parrot Crossbill was an adult and was in post-breeding moult ( inc.wing moult):

Parrot Crossbill

Again, the bill structure to me is clearly Parrot, but for many birders this would be classified as Scottish. The minimum bill depth was in excess of 13mm so not Scottish !

The female hadn't started moulting her primaries but some tail feathers were being moulted. She also had a brood patch score (BP) of 4 (meanind she had finished brooding/breeding). The bill structure was Parrot:

Parrot Crossbill

The juvenile had a rather 'clean' look to its bill structure, almost Scottish in appearance but still too deep biometrically to be anything but Parrot Crossbill:

Parrot Crossbill juvenile

These birds were colour-ringed and processed quickly and released into the same tree whilst sound recordings were obtained of their flight calls. The colour ring sequence is unique to each bird and allows the birds to be 'recaptured' (by observation) without actually physically catching it again. Much useful information can be gathered from these observations of colour ringed birds and so far I have very important data on call association, feeding ecology, breeding behaviour as well as site fidelity and movements. The rings have no impact on the activities of the crossbill and some that were ringed in 2006 are still being observed at the same location.

I only had a chance to have a quick drink myself and another bird was caught. This bird, an adult male Scottish Crossbill, already had a metal ring on its right leg so was a retrap. Consulting my notebook it was ringed by myself and my trainer on 3rd September 2006 at the exact same pool:

Scottish Crossbill

This bird was also in post breeding wing moult with several primaries in the process of being replaced. The minimum bill depth, believe it or not, is over a milimetre less than the Parrots that were caught, even though the shape is similar. This bird was processed and released very quickly, with the flight call recorded as he flew.

There was a lull of a few hours in the early afternoon. This so often happens, the birds just dossing about, preening, singing. Some interesting by-catch kept me on my toes with several Siskins and my first ever juvenile Stonechat. The latter was very interesting as there are usually several pairs with territories at this site but this year there have been none, so the bird I caught was most likey a roving juv from further up the Glen.

By late afternoon the action started again with two juvenile Parrot Crossbills caught in the other net I had set. These were probably caught as I have described above, that is piling in eagerly before the dominant adults ( who then sussed out the situation !). However, though they don't perhaps look as good, catching juveniles is actually better in many ways because we can age them exactly, that is as a first year or Euring 3J. We can also assume that these birds are on their natal site or certainly not far from it, so any movements can be valuable.

The first juvenile I processed had a stonking bill:

Parrot Crossbill Juvenile

From the profile you can really see that this bird, a typical Parrot Crossbill, is 'bill heavy'. Notice the very pronounced gonyeal bulge in the lower mandible.

The next bird, possibly a sibling, also had a pronounced Parrot type bill bill and was slightly smaller overall:

Parrot Crossbill Juvenile

The bird is being held in the 'reverse' ringers grip in order that the tip of the lower mandible can be photographed in the profile. Crossbills can be either left or right handed, or billed as it were, just like humans. I class the cross as being to the right or left based on the direction of the lower mandible tip, in this case to the left.

All in all a very sucessful day with a total of 5 Parrot Crossbills, one retrap Scottish Crossbill, 5 Siskins, 1 Chaffinch and a Stonechat caught naturally without bait. The retrap Scottish for me was the highlight in several ways. Hopefully the in hand bill profiles will be of help to birders in determining ( or not !) the Crossbill species and the text giving an insight in to the intricacy of crossbill study

....Results just In

2010-07-16T01:08:00.003+01:00

Well, that was a disappointing turnout given the apparent 'interest' in crossbills and the amount of crossbill sonagrams that are being posted on blogs etc. I don't think there is going to be a rush of contributions so well done to Dougie Preston and Stephen Menzie for being bold enough to have a go, and not a bad go at that, getting the species correct.

I guess people just don't want to appear "wrong" in public and perhaps this goes to demonstrate that identifying crossbills from sonagrams is just as difficult, possibly more so, than identifying them through a scope or images ? Or maybe my example was too difficult ? Well hey, it is a 'real life' snapshot of crossbill behaviour afterall !

Okay, there were two species, Common and Parrot Crossbill and of which there were 4 Common Crossbill individuals of the same 'type' (1A) and only one Parrot specimen. So a total of 5 Crossbills. Only the Parrot gave both a Fc and an Ec. Admittedly the actual numbers of birds was easier to ascertain from the recording which neither Stephen or Dougie had, though it can be seen on the sonagram.

So, here is my analysis ( all timings given are approx.):

1.0 secs = 2x Fc1 types. I call these "parroty" Fc1's as they are easily confused with Fc2. However, they much higher pitched than Fc2 Parrot and the descending element is much weaker ( thinner on the sonagram). Notice one individual is slightly lower pitched than the other, but still higher than Parrot.

1.3 secs = Bird "two" of Fc1. Continues through sonogram faintly.

1.4 secs = EcA Variant, bird "three". Fundamental has an initial down turn or upturned 'horn' appearance. The harmonics are slightly different from typical EcA.

1.6 secs = Bird "one" of Fc1.

1.9 secs = EcA variant, bird "four".

2.0 secs = Fc1, bird "one".

2.2 secs = EcA bird "four".

2.6 secs = EcA bird "four".

2.8 secs = EcA bird "three".

3.3 secs = EcD Parrot Crossbill. There is no coinciding Fc here ( sorry Dougie) it is a feature of the excitement call structure (though may be related to a fc?). Notice how the Parrot EcD is lower piched and of a considerably shorter duration than the Common Crossbill EcA ( which they can be confused with aurally).

3.8 secs = EcA bird "three" and "four" together.

3.95 secs = Fc2 Parrot Crossbill - same individual as 3.3 secs. Compare with Fc's at start of sonagram, notice the Parrot calls are lower in frequency ( I call it pitch cos I hear it) and are a much stronger in amplitude. This gives a "choop" rather than "cheep".

4.1 secs = EcA bird "three".

4.2 secs = Fc2 Parrot ( same bird as 3.95 secs).

The appearance of a seemingly extra component on the Parrot Fc's at 3.95 and 4.2 secs can be misleading and may in the past have led to examples of this call being classified as Fc3 Scottish ( all will become clearer soon !). It is a harmonic of the main trace in my opinion. Only large billed birds I have handled have given this call on release.

So well done lads, other than the Scotbill reference, you got the right answer ( though the working out may not agree with my own analysis).

Just shows what information you can get from a sonagram. And there are people that say Crossbill calls are baloney ! Their loss.......

S'on-ly A Game !

2010-07-14T11:01:00.001+01:00

Many interesting revelations to come in the crossbill world very soon so keep posted but meantime a bit of fun ! If Menzie can put up blurry, dodgy pics of his Spanny birds and ask "how many species" then so can I with Crossbills. To make it easier though rather than photos of crossers, which most people seem to get wrong or concede "they just don't know", I have this sonogram instead:

It was recorded on 16th April 2009 in upper Deeside, native Scots Pine habitat (using ME67 and Sony HiMD). So, how many crossbills and of what crossbill species, and more importantly how many call types ? I bet Menzie gets them all correct, he always does !

Posts are moderated, but I will put the non Chinese spam ones on honest !

Spread the crossbill love.

"Northern Exposure", Crossbills in Northern Isles....Again !

2010-07-05T13:18:00.000+01:00

For the past few weeks (since approx. early/mid June) Common Crossbills have been trickling in through Orkney, Shetland and North Ronaldsay. Readers may recall that last year there was a biggish influx of type 4E Common Crossbills to mainland Scotland ( and presumably UK). I picked up birds in decent numbers in lower Deeside by early July, where they had not been present previously that Winter/Spring.

Okay, guys and gals in Orkney and Shetland, what call types are you getting this year ? It would be very interesting to know. Colleagues in Grampian Ringing Group had a ringing recovery of a Common Crossbill in April near Dufftown. This bird was ringed in September 2009 in lower Deeside so had moved Northwards somewhat in the six months since ringing. Was this a bird returning 'back' to where it had come from ? My instinct is 'no', it was possibly part of a nomadic post breeding flock that was seeking a decent cone crop. But the possibility remains, especially given the accepted view is that birds move south and westwards.

So if this years influx of Commons on the Northern Isles is giving 4E calls does this mean they are last year's birds going home ? Maybe and maybe not. Maybe, for the scant evidence cited above and 'not' because some 4E's may have remained in Fennoscandia where there was a localised food source and are only moving now after breeding ( there are juvs in the recent photos I have seen of birds on Shetland). This is this 'lag' effect I spoke of last year, and this would depend on how far from the East the birds were erupting. However, if the calls of this years irruption is different from 4E then at least it rules out the 2009 population returning or a new one of the same type irrupting. As I recall there were some 1A's and 1B's last year also, though in much smaller numbers than the 4E's.

4E Common Crossbill

The other intruiging possibility is that of small numbers of Crossbills trickling in during the winter months and early spring. I have had Common Crossbills at coastal sites in November and December and two flew over my garden this April ( there is no substancial viable food source near me and I am less than a mile from the coast). These may also have been birds moving Northward back up the coast. However, I would expect the legions of Vismiggers to have picked up such movements if they were happening with any regularity ?

If anyone wants to post comments please do - I have not completely disabled the comments but am unfortunately having to moderate them due to the chinese spamming that seems to be more and more prolific on blogger these days !

14th June 2010, Catch Me If You Can, Deeside

2010-06-29T12:34:00.002+01:00

Today started off too windy to catch crossbills with mist nets, so it was frustrating to watch the little beggars come in and quench their thirst at drinking pools:

However, later in the afternoon the wind dropped and I managed to get the net up for an hour and caught an adult (4F) female Parrot Crossbill:

And she was in wing moult, in the process of replacing her first two primaries P1 and P2 ( and associated primary coverts already renewed):

This bird's bill structure is typical of so many on Birdguides and in publications that are labelled as "Scottish Crossbill". However, the bill depth on this specimen was 12.7mm which would make it more likey a Parrot Crossbill - it is the 'minimum' bill depth that is measured as this apparently provides the most consistent measurement within and between ringers. Some might argue it is a 'big' Scottish Crossbill. However, it also gave Fc2 on it's release, identified first aurally, then confirmed by sonogram analysis. So, what do we give prevalence to, the biometrics or the call structure ? Some ringers are happy to classify on biomterics alone and for many crossbills this is possibly safe, but there will always be those iffy ones in the overlap zone.

There has been some recent chitter chatter in the crossbill world that the calls are 'cultural' possibly implying that they are not a valid taxonomic tool or diagnostic criteria. Also, calls can be learned or change. So what ? For me, as a musician and a humanties graduate, this cultural aspect, if it exists, is all the more important and may provide some clues and insight within the overlap zone where biomteric analysis alone may struggle.

In the end 'local knowledge' formed my diagnosis that this was indeed what is currently classified as a Parrot Crossbill. At this site birds that have bill depths in the region of 11.5 plus or minus a bit give what I would classify as Scottish Crossbill calls. Birds in the region of 12.5 plus or minus some give Parrot Crossbill Calls. Thus there is a positive correlation of biometrics to call structure......for most birds ! There has been the odd 11.9 or 12.1 bill depth specimen that gives Parrot Calls where you might expect it to give Scottish Calls. This, I feel, reflects the limitation of minimum bill depth as a completely reliable measurement on its own. For example, it does not take into account the shape or structure of the bill, often a very large gonys bill mass which is so important for the Pine species in opening closed cones ( and why Parrots often have a pronounced gonys). Effectively, a crossbill can have quite a narrow minimum bill depth but still have a massive gonyal 'bulge', so this measurement may be biased, though as stated, for most it is accurate. Bill width is also important structurally, but a difficult measurement to make consistent between workers. Parrot Crossbills also have thick, chunky necks, the 'bull necked' appearance often referred to in field guide books and these neck and cheek muscles contribute to their feeding preferences.

Parrot Crossbills power their way into a closed Scots Pine cone, 'smash and grab' if you will - they use the downcurved culmen to cut into it, large bill width and depth ( the gonys increasing this) to lever 'open' and make the cone split (they do not "slice" it per se, though sometimes "peel" the scales), and the powerful neck a cheek/ jaw muscles to literally brutalize the cone, manupulating the cone the whole time with the powerful feet ( not legs as was suggested to me). A female Parrot Crossbill feeding on Scots Pine, October 2006 upper Deeside:

Notice that the tail is used for balance during the feeding process, often firmly angled or wedged on to the feeding perch. I have some more detailed stuff I am preparing as a short article on Parrot Crossbill feeding, how they work the cones etc, maybe on here or the new site.

31st May 2010, Scottish Crossbill

2010-06-23T01:33:00.001+01:00

For those who think Scottish Crossbill harder to find than a decent English goalkeeper (he-he) I was fortunate to find several today with several adults and juveniles feeding on Larch ( the bird is perched in a Scot's Pine):

The chunky little streakies can be located by their high pitched whistle or "tee-t'ow" begging calls when the adults are close. Interesting that this group were feeding on Larch when there was so much pine available - it is usually later in the summer that scotica switches to Larch.

Hawfinch

2010-04-19T22:32:00.000+01:00

A nice little piece on "Landward" last week acknowledging the grand efforts of Neil Morrison and other members of Tay Ringing Group studying the Hawfinch population at Scone Palace HERE at 22'45" in. Be warned you will briefly have to suffer Dougie Vipond - I do apologise ( get it ? !).

What A Bunch of Chocolates.....

2010-03-17T15:20:00.000Z

.......multi national companies are.

Please watch this advert:

Follow THIS link to write to the CEO of Nestle demanding they stop using illegally sourced and environmentally damaging palm oil from Indonesia.

Having spent many weeks in Indonesia myself this issue is close to my heart. Large areas of prime protected Rainforest are being illegally logged in order to grow and sell palm oil to multi-nationals like Nestle. THIS MUST STOP ! Think of the American forests in 20th Century being levelled to make way for soya bean on an industrial scale. No more Ivory Billed Woodpecker.

If you sit back and do nothing, don't moan there are no orang-utans in 10 or 15 years, it will be your fault too for not taking action................remember, a few thousand people voting with their feet stopped us being subjected to yet another crap X-Factor Christmas No.1. Your vote will count ! Power to the people and all that. Respect.

Grampian Ringing Group Blog

2010-03-17T02:04:00.000Z

I have posted a link to Grampian Ringing Group's blog in the Links to the right. I have been a member of GRG since late 2006 and have been, and am continued to be trained by them ( I now have a C Permit). So, I owe them a decent plug especially now there is a blog site !

There is some interesting recent stuff on there including a colour ringed Waxwing returning to the garden where it was ringed a year later ! Mind, this is after it reurning 'home' to Russia between times. Pretty incredible stuff and really shows the value of colour ringing birds.

Tits Up ?

Looking at the group ringing totals for species ringed I noticed Blue Tit at 376. Mmmmm.....I ringed 32 new blue tits last year, and 16 retraps=48 so about 1/10 of the total. This is down to my main general 'garden' ringing site being 'infested' by tits. The Great Tits and Coalies are great as they can be a bit more challenging to age, and in fact this site has really helped me hone my ageing skills on these species, which can be slightly more tricky eg. when you get coalies with greenish tinges to all wing feathers and female Great Tits that have replaced all greater coverts and have little or no contrast in pc's ( so you have to use alula and overall shape of pc's). Sorry getting all ringing technical here. Basically, Blue Tits are easy to age. However, just because Blue Tits are 'common 'doesn't mean they are not worth ringing, far from it I suspect.

I will try to put some images on the Deeside Ringer Blog ala Menzie's fantastic ringing blog eg. wing feathers, contrast etc. This may help trainee's ( I know it does 'cause it helped me) and may interest birders as some of the features will be visible 'in situ' through bins. Last year I had some retarded moult Siskins and a Great Spotted Woodpecker and in October caught a Scottish Crossbill that had suspended its moult and these may be of interest.

This one time...at band camp.....we saw some Crossbills.....

2010-03-16T00:10:00.002Z

Finally, a post actually about Deeside Crossbills !

Sunday 7 March 2010, Aboyne.

Managed to park car safely, and, more importantly so I could actually get out when I got back ( though I had a shovel in the boot) ! Waded through 2 feet of snow and picked up several parties of Common Crossbills feeding on native Scots Pine. Finally found a large feeding flock of around 40 Commons feeding on Larch. No juveniles present in this group and sex ratio was 50:50 ( so have not bred). These birds were eating ice from a 'snow plate' on the crown of a stunted Scots Pine - never seen that before. Managed quite a few recordings with my Telinga ( sorry Reservoir Catz/ Tom McKinney) and FR2LE. It sounded like a pet shop at times.

Monday 8th March, Strachan.

Main concern was where to park the car, with 3ft of snow piled up on the sides of the road:

"Eh, WTF is the Car Park ?"

Might seem a moot point to some but the amount of times I have got stuck in my current car beggars belief so access can sometimes be problematic. I finally got the car into a space where a snow plough had turned and on getting out was treated to a Common Crossbill pair near a small stream. Managed a few recordings of these but unfortunately missed the Scottish Crossbill type that flew over the main road just as I got out - aural Id good enough though as they really are unmistakable. I then set off following one of the trails initially, noticing someone before me had been on snow shoes - good idea as the snow was 2 feet deep and heavy going. Then it was off the beaten track and this was not funny stumbing about in 4 foot drifts.

I encountered many group of Common Crossbills and these were all actively feeding on plantation Scots Pine which were for the most part open or opening. The real highlight however, was a first winter female Northern Goshawk that I spotted about a quarter of a mile a way and which then flew straight over me giving the "ki-ka-kaka-ka" call ( which I recorded). However, for the benefit of Res Catz, the ID was visually confirmed in the field, even down to it being a female, the recording merely incidental. Birders who are doubting whether or not they have seen either a Goshawk or a Sparrowhawk have seen a Sparrowhawk - you know when you have got a Goshawk straight away ! I once saw one terrorising a pair of Buzzards which was quite a sight. Sparrowhawks don't do that AFAIK.

So, Common Crossbills in "eating scots pine shock horror". But clearly some were still prefering larch where it was available ( and where there were crossbills !).

It's not the size of your parabola that counts it is what you do with it that matters !

2010-03-06T00:27:00.000Z

This made me chortle, though I think the writer is possibly serious and a tad anti parabola/sound recording.

Guilty as charged ? Nah, surely not.....I can tell the difference between a Willow Warbler and Chiffer ! It does beg the question: are parabola's/microphones becoming a feature of moderm birding and if so, is this a bad thing ? Discuss.

A Room With A View...

2010-03-06T00:10:00.000Z

It's not every day you look out of your study window and see this:

Any ideas ? Well a flock of 21 (Bohemian) Waxwings that I had been watching a street away an hour earlier decided to descend on a lone cotoneaster just opposite my house after I returned to do some work on Monday 15th Feb. A pretty good window tick but, without sounding glib, we see them from the house every year only usually at the back (south side) of the house.

A better pic ( though with my 18-70 lens):

It was looking like a non Waxwing winter up here in Aberdeen but this ( the largest flock) at least made some interesting watching for a couple of days - I never tire of checking them for rings and listening to their trilling calls. Catching opportunities were somewhat limited as the birds were not visiting particular trees.

The weather has been really bad up here with quite severe snow. I have managed some crossbill surveying but mainly in mid Deeside, with only a few days out in the upper valley - my car has a habit of getting stuck in snow so I have been a bit cautious.

In mid Deeside there is the same number of Common Crossbills that were present before all the deluge of ice and snow in December and even a few Scottish Crossbills have been heard/recorded.

I have been exceptionally busy with real work plus some other bits and bobs - to all those who have been emailing me that I have not responded to please accept my apologies: it may be some time before normal service is resumed. The Crossbill breeding season is now upon us and for the next few months I will be wrapped up with that as well as trying to finish some writing up as well as call analysis. I am sorry but this stuff must take precedence along with all the work that pays the bills !

Keep tuned in as ther blog will have sporadic crossbill ( and ringing) updates.

You Know You're A Crossbill Obsessive when..........

2010-02-02T12:09:00.000Z

................you have a tatoo of a Scottish Crossbill on your back:

Not me I am afraid, I guess I am just not obsessed enough. Nice 'celtic' design though.......

Happy New Year !

2010-01-02T18:16:00.000Z

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2010 to all Loxia Fantastica readers. It is going to be a busy year for me with lots of data and material write up for publication as well as ongoing fieldwork.

Quick message for Lester Rees who may be reading this blog: Lester, I have sent you a couple of emails in reply to the one you sent me the other day. They may have been blocked as Spam by your server so please check, or let me know you didn't get then and I will resend from a different email account.

New Found Crossbill ? (updated)

2009-12-30T15:19:00.012Z

One to engage with trans-Atlantic Loxia Fantastica readers 'over the pond'. Raking through the 50 plus gigs of crossbill recording that I have I came across some interesting ones sent to me by Lester Rees from Newfoundland. A few years ago at the end of the summer months Lester was getting Red Crossbills visiting his garden feeders ( feeeding on sunflowers !) and this occurence happened over several years. Unfortunately the correspondence I had with Lester was 3 computers ago and though it is backed up somewhere, I can't put my hands on it. The gist was that Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) sent Dr.William Montevecchi (a dean at MUN) and Dave Fifield (from MUN) do a sound recording and banding. The recordings were sent to me by Lester in 2006 (I think) - the recordings were possibly made in 2005 ? The initial thought (hope) was that these Red Crossbills might be putative Type 8's the subspecies percna, or New Foundland Red Crossbill which is presumed extinct, hence the excitement of the academics. Some of Lester's pictures of the birds can be seen HERE. Unfortunately there seems to have been little funding to take the science much further and it is in limbo as so often happens.

I produced some sonagrams from the audio and the results were interesting. First up a flight call ( apologies for compressed sonagrams - the files very small and I have scaled them to match others on this blog for comparison. If you click on them they should enlarge):

This looks very much like the Fc's for Magnus' "keep" ( "Wandering") Common Crossbill call, but it sounds a bit 'lispy' or flutely and dare I say sounds like some types I record regularly in Deeside ( though these "look" different on the 'gram). If anyone can let me know how I can upload audio directly on to here please say and I will do it.

Another Newfoundland one:

The one above is similar to Fc2 'over here' in UK, but with features more consistent with Fc1 ( or "British" for Sound Approach readers).
One more flight call from Witbourne, Newfoundland:

Again, very much like the second example. However, this one gives food for thought:

To me this sounded like a toop ( an excitement call): it is lower in frequency than the corresponding flight calls ( as toops are) and has a more "clucky" quality that toops tend to have. Unfortunately the sound clips are small and it is difficult to evaluate the context of the calls to gain a bit more insight. I would still say this one sounds like an excitement call, though I reserve the right to be mistaken here given the brevity of the clip. However, it does seem to closely match the Fc for Type 4 as shown on page 37 of Groth's monograph. Type 4 flight call can be heard HERE. The example Lester sent me, the putative excitement call, sounds nothing like Groth's Fc4, and whilst the bird was in flight ( you can hear the wingbeats on the recording), it is not uncommon for crossbills to elicit excitement calls when flying. The flight calls Lester sent on do not match those for Type 4 either, but equally they do not match the one recording of a putative percna from 1981. If anything they are similar to Type 3. Mixed flocks of types would not be uncommon - certainly they are not over here in the UK. I am no North American Loxia expert but I would imagine Type 3 and 4 are most likely cadidates geographically as they can range from Alaska and British Columbia on the Pacific Northwest right across to Maine and Canada on the Atlantic coast. The fact that they were occuring at the end of the summer suggests a northerly population moving South (and East ?) and that they were feeding on sunflower suggests behaviour of migrating crossbills eg. that they were possibly locally starving with their natural food source depleted - a bit like watching Crossbills feeding on thrift in Shetland ! The fact that Lester photographed some steaked juvenile birds also suggests that this was a post breeding movement. Lester's crossbills may have crossed a considerable landmass to reach Newfoundland ( and the natural barrier of the North Atlantic), or they could have irrupted more 'locally' from nearby Quebec or the Newfoudland mainland. I would imagine there are exciting opportunities to study crossbill movements using stable isotopes given the vast landmass of the USA and Canada.

So if my hunch is correct what Lester had was Type 3 flight calls and what appears to be a different excitement call from those previously described. If I am wrong then the excitement call is indeed a Type 4 flight call variant ( which I don't have access to to verify or compare, that's my excuse anyway). Groth's sonagrams are also displayed in "wide-band" which makes the features more 'blurry' and with a different scale than mine. But what about the fact that for percna there only exists a series of recordings of an individual bird made in 1981 ? Was this a true percna ? Do these crossbills Lester gets every Summer stay on and breed locally in Newfoundland ? Where do they originate from ? Could they be percna ? Is anyone follwing up this rather intriguing case ? If someone can put me up over there I could just about be tempted over to help out - cheap flight to New York and drive up the coast. If only I could get my crossbills over here onto Sunflower seeds, I might just run out of rings ! It would be like catching blue tits on peanut feeders E-A-S-Y ! My first recommendation would be to take feather samples for stable isotope analysis from caught birds and to compare this with historic mueseum specimens from the same region of the USA and Canada.
And just as a final thought prompted from an as always stimulating exchange of emails with Magnus Robb where he referred to the "up till now taboo subject of the potential for New World Crossbills reaching the UK and Europe". Get out with your Telingas folks - more is waiting to be discovered and it might just be you.............

Maybe some for our cross the pond cousins would like to share their thoughts on this ?

Alive And Kicking !

2009-12-30T15:10:00.003Z

Merry Christmas everyone !

Jeezo things have been hectic lately ! Normal service will be resumed again on Loxia Fantastica I promise. My time has been spread (too thinly possibly) between many things lately, some of them unrewarding it has to be said, some hopefully not so. Please also remember like most people I do actually have a job, which I love, and that (sadly) it is not a full time researchers post for RSPB studying Crossbills (as some people have wrongly thought in the past !). I am, at the moment, drenched in sonagrams - the weather is just too crappy for serious crossbilling, though hope to get out later in the week. I also have a new 'toy' to play with from Santa.

A couple of weeks ago I was down on Rainbow Warrior before it set off to Oslo and then to Copenhagen, sadly not with me on it ( edit: some avid readers of Loxia Fantastica may be interested to know that in a previous 'life' I was in fact a Marine Scientist SO Grade working at the Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen. I would do a few months at sea every year on research vessels. My paricular field of speciality was larval fish and micro and macro zooplankton. A long way from Crossbills !). Please sign up to the various campaigns that Greenpeace are undertaking, especially register your dismay at the failure of the UN to agree on legally binding emission controls, even though for once the UK government seemed proactive during and after the summit. A particular disgrace is how several Greenpeace campaigners have been banged up in a Danish prison, possibly in solitary, until Jan 7th for a peaceful and dignified protest - they 'gatecrashed' a state dinner and held up banners. Wow, if that is what happens for a mild "breach of the peace" in Denmark ( and I use the term "breach of the peace" loosely as it seemed a dignified silent and peaceful protest to me) then what would happen for something more serious like your dog crapping on the pavement ? I think the Danes had egg on their face that their security at a State function with many world leaders attending was so pathetic. Actually, make that non existant.

Highlight of my birding journal recently was a collybita Chiffchaff in my garden in first week of December. My previous latest record was 22nd Nov in 2005........er, not that I keep lists like. I guess the climate is warming after all then....

"Read All About It ?"

2009-11-16T23:05:00.007Z

On Saturday my copy of "Birdwatch" was delivered through my letter-box. Don't ask me why but I always turn to the second last page to see what next month's issue will feature. And behold, staff writer David Callahan is apparently going to be writing a piece on the current state of Loxia:

"Got Your Bills in A Cross? Debate continues as to the true number of crossbill species in Britain, Europe and beyond. David Callahan assesses the current state of the taxonomy and what is yet to come". (Birdwatch, Issue 210, p.69)

Now, clearly I will be interested to read this, as I am sure some of you will, but what exactly can this article say, and, is there really any 'debate' concerning this subject other than on Bird Forum ? Okay, Birdlife lost the plot on Scotbill a few weeks ago.....until the RSPB reminded them of the script. Nothing against Mr. Callahan, who is a good writer, but as a rule I am generally a bit wary of journalists - remember that embarrassing Glasgow Herald article on Scotbill that their 'Environmental Correspondent" wrote ? Sure there are those Scully types that don't believe in Scottish Crossbill as the evidence is flimsy, but us Mulder types continue to observe, sound record and sometimes even catch them. The Scully types are often serious listers, who in many cases rather than buy a sound recorder and microphone to ID crossbills, choose to deny its existence as they can't see any differences and instead blow their money on plane fares to Fair Isle to see a small brown bird that shouldn't be there. The BOU seem to believe in Scottish Crossbill as a species so surely that should be that, shouldn't it ? In Britain we have 3 breeding species - Common, Parrot and Scottish. Two-Barred can occur as rare migrant. So that is the current state of the taxonomy in the UK as I see it: not a pretty sight but it is what it is.

What is still to come regarding the future of Loxia taxonomy ? In UK at least how about this as a guess:

1) Further work on classification and understanding of crossbill vocalisations, with reference to speciation and irruptive populations. More 'new' calls will be discovered (and fact, already have been. One of my main areas of focus). Possible lab based studies on song and call learning (not my thing ethically).

2) More 'refined' genetics esp. for Loxia scotica, but also the others ( Not my field, but I would gladly participate in this).

3) More Stable Isotope analysis of Common Crossbill populations especially given the current irruption ( Not my area, though I have offered to gather samples).

4) Further work on biometric and taxonomic classification of Crossbill species. (I am interested in long term studies of biometric stability of a dormant crossbill population in relation to sporadic influxes from the continent. Other workers doing their own thing with bios also.)

5) Ecological studies on feeding efficiency and 'fitness' to environment ala Benkman - possibly a PhD project ? (I am doing this with field observed wild birds). Possibly supplemented in the lab using captive birds (again, not really my thing).

My participation is only small though hopefully will make a contribution. I have already got a new call here in Scotland. My project has recently suffered some major set backs though.

In USA, well I can't keep track with the number of Red Crossbill 'species' there - I reckon there will be more though......they, so far, are hands down the cutting edge in all things crossbill ( like in so many things !). I reckon they'll possibly discover a crossbill on Mars......or send a crossbill to Mars.....or a crossbill will win X Factor. Something like that.

In Europe, more could be done on the boreal 'natal' grounds of Common and Parrot Crossbills - calls, biometrics, genetics, anything ! So if anyone in Russia fancies taking up the baton, or more precisely the Telinga ? ! I am sure the Med races will be given the same 'treatment' as our own beloved scotica, and some may reach full species status (if any ornithogical body can be bothered approving it).

Roll on next copy of Birdwatch, a fine journal for the discerning 21st Century orni-enthusiast.

,

Crossbill Taxonomy in Action ?

Never Forgotten

2009-11-11T22:18:00.003Z

On holiday in July this year I visited the Commando Memorial near to Spean Bridge and their historic training base at Achnacarry. It was an incredibly moving experience, being there at dusk and with the memorial set in a panaromic landscape in the shadow of the imposing Aonach Mor. Nearby there was a small personal memorial garden with tributes to fallen Royal Marine Commandos from World War II through to the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. It was a poignant reminder back in July as to just how many of these and other brilliant soldiers we have lost in Iraq and Afghanistan, and of course since then the losses have increased considerably. One is too many. Incredibly brave and determined soldiers from all regiments are learning to overcome and deal with horrific life changing injuries they have received and their resolve never ceases to amaze and inspire me. They too should not be forgotten.

Being an Arbroath boy the troops of 45 Commando based at Arbroath Condor were in my thoughts as they sustained bad loses in Afghanistan last year before returning from their tour of duty. I have fond memories of a fantastic day at the base open day as a young lad when the Marines inspired me to achieve the fastest time on the assault course.

I did not buy a poppy this year, not having had the opportunity. Instead, I write this in memory and tribute to the fallen and injured in all past and present campaigns, as well as those killed or injured in peace time duties.

If you are reading this and wonder why it is on Loxia Fantastica then let me offer this: whilst standing at the Memorial in July a group of Common Crossbills were calling from a small spruce plantation nearby. However, that didn't seem important at the time and nor does it now.

Those That Can, Do, Those That Can't Blog ?

2009-11-10T00:53:00.005Z

I am tired of reading statements like "time spent blogging is time not spent birding or ringing" or "people spending more time in front of computer screens than birding/ringing". I sit and write this at 1am in the morning watching "Generation Kill". My crossbills have been roosting since 2.30pm. As to ringing, unless I am out dazzling Woodcock or roosting Dippers, forget it. For the record I spent all day on Monday birding and ringing. I can work, bird, ring and blog - I don't have to do them all at the same time, I am a multi tasker. I can even watch TV at the same time. The said same people that come out with this sort of nonsense probably get bladdered every Friday and Saturday night, which I do not criticise, though perhaps they should practise what they preach and stay home scrutinising their ID books or entering their data into IPMR.

Parrot Invasion !

2009-11-03T22:31:00.004Z

Today saw 47 Parrot Crossbills reported vismigging through Falsterbo Observatory in southern Sweden and last week a staggering 494 passed through there. There have been over 13,000 Parrot Crossbills migrating through since 1st August !!

Now, I am not sure how these crossbills are being identified, but Parrots are generally bulkier and have bigger heads than Commons, so with an experienced observer the ID's and counts are very possibly accurate. This observatory should have experienced 'crew' so I think we can have confidence in these counts.

All these Parrots will have to turn up somewhere - Germany, Holland...... Norfolk ! So keep those eyes (and ears) peeled. I am braced for a Fair Isle or Shetland bird and I keep checking.

Happy Hunting !

Parrot Crossbill:Appearing Soon At a Pine Wood Near You ?

Scottish Crossbill

2009-11-01T16:38:00.005Z

A nice portrait of a 1cy Scottish Crossbill male, one of two I caught along with two Parrot and two Common Crossbills on Deeside on 12 October:

This bird was identified as a Euring 3 ( 1 cy) by the presence of 4 juvenile greater coverts and a few juvenile type median coverts - the lesser coverts had been replaced with adult feathers. The bill profile and depth is typical for scotica.

It was also the first time I have been 'out-flanked' by a crossbill during its release ( though I still got the call !) :

"A Sky installation engineer attempts to shake hands with a Scottish Crossbill"

The recent wet and windy weather has scuppered all crossbill ringing plans for a bit. Two weeks ago today I was 'enhancing' a crossbill drinking site when all this rain started. I would be amazed if that pool has survived and has not been washed away. Until it dries out many birds will drink opportunistically at any puddles near to where they are feeding, and it will possibly be some time before they return to the habitual/ritualistic sites.

So, efforts are now focussed on fixing holes in nets, cutting nets down into 2 and 3 shelves ( which is ideal for crossbills) and making up colour rings ( to use on Waxwings if and when they arrive).

Time To Eat Humble Pie ?

2009-10-17T00:07:00.014+01:00

Kate in 'Oddie-esque' thougthful pose

A lot has been written on a well known birding forum about the RSPB's decision to elect Kate Humble as their new President. Opinions seem pretty divided re the pros and cons - some say she is too opinionated and disrespective of other cultures ( a reference to "The Frankincense Trail") or too 'head girly' and 'gushing', whilst others feel her high profile and professionalism can only be a good thing.

Me ? Well I think it is a very good decision 'cause basically I like Kate. She is not afraid to stand up to the boys, clearly reads up on her subject, is infectiously enthusiastic and is not afraid of getting dirty (her hands that is, come on now behave ). Most BBC journos would be too worried about their career ratings to say anything remotely controversial but I think Kate will speak her mind. There is no such thing as bad publicity remember.

A happy Kate in a documentary about Elephant's backsides

On the BBC's "Frankincense Trail" she was initially critical of the way women were treated in Saudi Arabi, however this was merely culture shock rather than narrow mindedness, and, she is afterall a Western woman ! She soon 'aclimatised' somewhat and was even moved to the point of tears at the incredible atmosphere of the evening call to prayer in Riyadh (?). Is that bad ? I think it shows a deep respect and connection to a culture that is radically different from our own, whilst at the same time not being afraid to voice her own values and beliefs. She is human and not afraid to show it. Poisoned Golden Eagles and habitat destruction, Kate will be there being passionate and emotional and that won't necessarily be a bad thing. Thanks to her image and profile you might even read about it in The Sun, now there's a thought. Who knows, Kate may even become the new champion of Britain's only endemic the Scottish Crossbill, and go and sort out those pesky renegades at Bird Life International ! ?

So all you doubters please give Kate a chance: she is high profile, intelligent and also practical. She learns her subject and commits to it 100% with passion, enthusiasm and verve. She will be good for RSPB and good for birds. Trust me, it is not a career move for her as, frankly, she doesn't need it as it is bound to come with some 'baggage'. And, to lower the tone somewhat, if you still can't get your head around it all, be honest: would Chris Packham look this fetching in that little green and silver number ?

Viva el Presidente !

That's Life

2009-09-26T15:00:00.021+01:00

It seems Bird Life International have taken it upon themeselves to de-classify Scottish Crossbill as a species.....and then all X-Files 'n' mysterious they have erased all trace of this unofficial press-release SEE HERE ! At a time when their partners the RSPB have just surveyed the species using a scientific rationale and whilst a new Red Crossbill 'species' has been proposed in USA, this seems a strange decision. Whilst I often hint at sceptisim, or at least an open mind, over the current classification of scotica, I nevertheless do believe that there is at least one crossbill 'species' or type endemic to Scotland. Boffins at BOU can decide on what constitutes speciation, but it seems in some quarters that if birdwatchers cannot see a difference through their Leica's then it cannot be a species. While I can sympathise with birders is this rationale sound ? What exactly made BirdLife International reach this decision ?

Those friendly neighbourhood BF's have started discussing Scotbill again HERE. I am kind of glad that I can't participate as it usually gets a bit silly. However, the comments in post #14 :

"Lack of genetic differences means (for me) that these forms don't exist long and there is no time to accumulate genetic differences. They form when particular conifer seeds occur, and later crossbreed and lump again. "

Not really wanting to single this guy out as he is only giving his opinion, this cannot be the case for the suggested indifference between crossbills, certainly morphologically. Birds selected for a particular conifer type would fluctuate (negatively) in numbers if that particular conifer type failed - this is one of the reasons crossbills migrate. By breeding with other types this would not necessarily ensure their, or in particular their offsprings survival - there is no advantage, quite the opposite possibly ! Even when several types of crossbills breed in the same area they breed with ones that look and sound the same. This is true even for Common Crossbill types. For example, a Parrot female will not mate with a Common male as the Common male will not be able to feed both himself, her on the nest and then chicks during a hard time of the year (Feb-April). Would it be advantageous to the Common male ? Well, if sucessfull presumably some of the offspring may have larger bills and be selected for a different niche, which would fit Jureks argument. My own thought is that he wants to be sucessful in passing on his genes to progeny who have a chance of survival. This would be with a mate of the same type and in an ecological niche that is optimal for that type ( eg. not a native Scots Pine forest in Feb-March). Thus, ecological niche specialisation plays a huge role in the assortative mating between Common and Parrot Crossbill - between Scottish and Parrot, well that could be diferent.

A Common Type 1A female I caught in June this year:

Spruce Muncher

And a Parrot female I caught in August 09, notice the pronounced gonys (used for feeding) and the nictitating membrane on the eye:

Pine Muncher

Still think they are the same species ? Surely not......

Scottish and Parrot Crossbill nest failure can be as high as 40-50% in some Springs. Genetics, in my opinion, is still an emerging science and more refined techniques may show genetic variation between the Loxia taxa. We will see. I guess the sceptics can cite Northern Bullfinch as a case against scotica's or possibly pytyops full status - it is bigger than the West European and UK races, but essentially, as far as I know, it still feeds and behaves as a Bullfinch ? It has a different call from those found in Scandanavia and Britain ( sound familiar ?!). Do these large Northern Bullfinches breed with the smaller forms ? Is there any genetic variation between these races ? For a thing to be half as big again there must surely be something in the genetic code ? Same with Parrot Crossbill in my opinion - it is much bigger than curvirostra. Northern races of birds do tend to be larger, but these are in Scotland. Just because we haven't found a genetic difference yet it doesn't mean it does not exist ( sounds like a IBWO believers mantra, oh no !).

My feeling is that each crossbill 'type' has a natural variation within its population as a whole and in adverse years certain individuals will be better adapted and will survive (in greater numbers)and others will die out. This can be seen on a local level - here in Scotland there was a sitka and larch failure last winter and Common Crossbills largely had to feed on Scots Pine. Only the fitest birds selected for that environment will have survived (or remained/bred) eg. birds with bills that could have coped with opening closed, hard Scots Pine cones. Subsequently, certain call types (and morph types) were not present in the region ! This would perhaps explain the variation in bill morphology of the various cryptic curvirostra types. As far as I know bill plasticity has not been fully explored so this is purely hypothetical on my part but it is something I hope to examine long term by studying a dormant population of large billed crossbills in Scotland as well as invading crossbills of the same call type over several influxes eg. many years. In years of good local larch and spruces one would expect a larger range of bill sizes amongst dormant crossbill populations, with smaller billed specimens sucessfully feeding on the non-native tree species. In years of non-native failures one would expect modal bill sizes to shift upwards.

When we classify Crossbills to species we tend to use measurements like bill, with mean bill depths often cited, but I think this is potentially misleading -Parrot Crossbill (as things stand) can have a bill depth anywhere from around 12.0 (!) through to 14.1mm and Common from around 9.0mm to 11.7 mm. Edelaar, van Eerde and Terpstra found for type A (Dutch) males that the mean bill depth was 10.62 mm with a range of 10.0 to 11.7mm. Again, this is a difference of 1.7mm, which is quite significant within a type (and which overlapped with the other type in the study).

I also think a bit more needs to be done on the inheritability of bill morphology in wild Crossbills. Studies in capativity show positive inheritability of bill size from parents, though personally what I felt that data showed was that a clutch of offspring averaged the midpoint of parents bill depths but exhibited quite a bit of variation matching that of the parent sample eg. range of bill depths for adult male scotica was 11.2-12.4mm, and for adult female 10.2 - 12.1mm. That is 1.9mm of variation for females, quite a bit of variation in crossbill terms.

However, in captivity they (adults and progeny) are not subjected to the pressures of a dynamic natural environment (where food suppy and type and temperature are not controlled), and afterall the catalyst of Darwinian evolution is natural variation within a population: without variation there can be no evolution. Such variation also promotes the survival of the 'species' by increasing it's adaptability to potentially adverse enivironmental conditions that may occur. Even assuming a high inheritability rate, if a particular population of crossbills ( type) has such a natural variation in bill structure (depth/shape), which they clearly do, and birds with similar bills mate with birds that have the same size of bills ( as they have been found to do) then this means that the progeny of the population as a whole will continue to have a range of bill sizes ( that they have inherited). But some will be better selected for particular environmental conditions than others will. Crossbills within that population are thus potentially selected for cones and seeds of various sizes - there will be an optimum, but there is an insurance policy that Nature has provided, one that is occasionally asked to 'pay out' when a cone crop fails. This might be the key with crossbills and why we all have nightmare identifying and classifying them.

This is one of the reasons I like studying crossbill calls, something which (unfairly) takes a fair bit of bashing as being 'pointless' it has to be said. Finches can learn calls from their parents and will also sychronize calls with a mate - the latter is something I have evidence of with Scottish Crossbill on two occasions. Mainly this is between a pair of the same call type or species ( as my examples were), but it has been noted in USA of birds of different types. But surely this makes crossbill taxonomy using calls even more vague: if the birds change calls, or birds of a specific type learn the call of a male in a mixed pair then how do we know who is who ? Well I don't think this is a reason to throw in the towel. It is a bit like being born in England but growing up from a young age in Scotland. You are English as a race but culturally there is a fair chance you will sound (and possibly behave) Scottish ! You may even attract a Scottish member of the opposite sex as a partner. To all intents and purposes you be will identified as Scottish by the Scottish population at large - you are effectively 'naturalised'. Biometrics do not have this 'cultural' focus but vocalisations do. In Crossbill terms, we may not really know what provenance a particular hybrid specimen is, but we at least know it thinks it is Scottish and will presumably act as expected ( if it can).

If hybridisation is a problem (and I am not sure it necessarily is) and is indeed the explanation for the genetic indifference, then surely it is as a result of specimens at either extreme of the bill depth ranges for a given type. Thus, a small billed Parrot may pair with a large billed Scottish Crossbill (at it's upper range) - they will 'look' the same (to each other and us !). They may even synchronize their calls as pairs often do. However, they will still have to contend with that harsh Scottish Spring which will select for the very fitest of individuals sucessfully breeding.........

You Say Parrot I Say Potato

2009-08-27T13:59:00.002+01:00

"Shurely a Parrot Croshbill Mish Monneypenny" ?

Following the BBRC decision to remove Parrot Crossbill from the BBRC list as outlined previously on this blog, and also reported in British Birds May Vol.102 p.275, the debate has ensued as to whether or not this is a good decision. There are some sensible points discussed HERE, though I am not sure about posts # 44 and #45 - and there was me thinking I was such a friendly and amiable chap ( which I am when you get to know me.....honest) !

For me BBRC decison on Parrot Crossbill is a kind of revelation, as last year the editor for the North East Scotland Bird report quite correctly insisted that I add a caveat in the text that none of my Parrot Crossbill records had been submitted for review by BBRC. So were my Parrot records credible ? This was my primary concern as, without the blessing of BBRC, these 'unverified' records (all mine !) could perhaps be seen as vague at best - "stringy" is the correct term, as I understand ? However, we all know that biometrically and bio-acoustically "Parrot" type birds have been getting trapped and sound recorded in Scotland for well over a decade. Thus back to the BF debate, which sadly I can't take part in. I sit on both sides of the fence on this one for the following reasons:

My own records of Parrot 'type' Crossbills now gain credibility and there is now an acknowledgement that Parrot type birds breed and are resident in NE Scotland, differentiated from 'migrant' records. Hooray, result !

But:

Presumably all records submitted by other parties will also be accepted without verification ? But,what if these are mistaken or errant - given the ongoing confusion amongst most birders between Parrot, Scottish and even Common is this a wise policy ? Also, what about 'true' migrant Parrot type birds on Fair Isle or the Norfolk Coast - do BBRC not want descriptions of these either ?

Now, this really makes me sound omnipotent and selfish, doesn't it ? Basically, what I can be accused of saying is that I can ID Parrot Crossbills and nobody else can ? Well no actually, that is not what I am getting at, and far from it really. It is not that 'other' records can't be trusted but, in my defence, a lot of pictures I see of 'Scottish Crossbills' on the web, and even published articles, appears to be one of these Parrot type birds. So, if someone reports a specimen as Scottish Crossbill then it is, in all probability, very likely a Parrot Crossbill ! This may work in everyones favour regarding accuracy eg. a big billed bird is most likely a Parrot type, however some Scottish types do appear to overlap with the smaller end of the Parrot size range - at least they are considered as Scottish just now, but may be a modal bill size all of their own. Readers may remember a long since hacked and deleted post on this blog about a large billed crossbill sighted in Wales by Dan Brown ? My advice was that although the bird appeared to have a large mandible this could have been out of proportion to it's body - a small bodied bird with a disproportionately large bill can look 'Scottish' or 'Parroty'. There is a good example in Birds of Scotland of a profile of a Scottish type bird with a HUGE honker of a beak in the photo, yet it's bill depth was bang on for Scottish. It clearly had 'big beak, smaller head' syndrome !

Scottish, Parrots or Common? Ask the audience? Phone a Friend? Final Answer ?

For those sound recording to verify their 'observations' the flight calls are also very confusable, as I see time and time again - according to Knox, and Constantine and Mullarney, Parrot flight calls in Fennoscandia and on the continent can be quite variable, though I am not sure if they confirmed this with biometrically verified birds. Magnus Robb has also recently recorded some variation in Parrot Crossbill call types from several different irruptions into Holland. In Scotland there does seem to be some variation with Fc2. Poor sound signals can result in calls losing important structural features and frequency can vary with distance, and, it seems, simply by natural variation within a call type. Thus, these calls are easily confusable on sonogram. By ear, without much experience or suitable comparison, it would be very easy to confuse Parrot EcD with Common EcA, the latter sounds slightly higher, hollower in timbre and with more obvious harmonics - but what does that actually mean in the field ! ? Parrot Fc2 can also be very easily confused with the thinner "Cheepy" Fc1 of Common Crossbills that are prevalent up here in Scotland just now, both on sonogram and 'by ear'.

However,with tangible physical measurements such as biometrics or a sound recording a record can be updated or reviewed in the future should our knowledge change regarding crossbill speciation. A statement " 5 Parrot Crossbills at Anagach Wood" cannot. It simply infers that there were (possibly) several big billed crossbills there. Photos help to some degree but can be misleading - lots of shots of the same individual from different perspectives are often required.

Back to the Bird Forum debate and some of the comments, some of which mention me personally. James Spencer (Hotspur) writes in post #5 :

"If you adhere to Lindsay Cargill's identifications then most of the Scotsbill in the various bird galleries are actually Parrot Crossbill".

Yes and no James - I have basically suggested this as a generalisation, but I have not identified every single photograph on the web ! There clearly are some Scottish Crossbills on web galleries - there are even some of mine on the dreaded Bird Forum ! Granted a large amount of birds labelled as 'Scottish' would be classed as 'Parrot' type by me using my own experiences and under currently accepted classification and thinking here in Scotland eg. bios and calls as they stand.

In post #25 Richard Klim writes:

"Laurent Raty made the following comment during a recent ID-Frontiers discussion about the recently-described South Hills Crossbill (suggesting that Parrot is now more likely than Scottish at Abernethy):

"... medium-size-billed crossbills in Scotland [Scottish crossbills] are now found largely in alien conifer plantations, rather than in native Scots pine forests where they are supposed to have evolved [and where bigger-billed birds now occur]."

The quote by Laurent, a very knowledgeable and nice chap, regarding medium sized birds is true..........to an extent ! Scottish can occur in alien conifer plantations but generally at particular times of the year. This caveat is very important: In February scotica is usually back on territory in either native or plantation Scots pine. The problem being so is curvirostra, though some will feed on Larch until April if it is still present - this winter the Commons, and Scottish for that matter, were predominantly found on Scots pine throughout the year due to a Larch and Spruce crop failure. Scottish will move on to Larch in late summer and early Autumn and will flit between Larch and Scots Pine through the winter. They will aslo subsist on Spruce, particularly Norway if present, and Lodgepole.

However, all of this potentially gets even more complex, and this is my point: how may people are mistaking Common Crossbills for Scottish Crossbill ? Parrot and Scottish are always considered the ones that are confusable, but in reality it is probably Common and Scottish (under current classification criteria) that cause most problems. The female bird in the top banner of Loxia Fantastica is a second calendar year Scottish Crossbill. Be honest: how many of you would have had that down as Common ? The bill shape is not typical Scottish, certainly not from that angle, but the plumage definitely is, though Common's feeding exclusively on Scots Pine may also appear 'dusky'. The bird gave a Scottish type call.

In balance I think the BBRC decision is the right one - a few misidentified specimens of either species will be overshadowed by the hundreds of verified (but not submitted records) that crossbill researchers and enthusiasts collect, that till now have always been in a dodgy 'are they aren't they' area ! Bear in mind most of my records are confirmed by either calls or biometrics (colour ringed birds that have previously been trapped). Actually, in my opinion they still are in that 'dodgy area' for reasons cited in a post way down below regarding the possible identity of the true relict Pine Crossbill of the Great Forest of Caledon ( just my thoughts, half baked maybe), but at least it gives us an position to move on from should classification be altered in the future. 'Parrot Crossbill', in my book, is merely a label for the largest billed crossbills that exist in Scotland and also on the continent. The Scottish 'Parrot Crossbills' may be the 'same stock' as their continental counterparts, though maybe they are not, and are actually the real relict 'Scottish' pine wood species. Certainly food for thought I think

"Touchdown " - The Eagle Has Landed !

2009-07-08T13:13:00.008+01:00

Evidence of Type 4E Crossbills On The Mainland !

Monday 6th July

I managed to get out on Monday 6th July for a bit - it's a long story but things have been mental lately. I will not bore you with details but don't get involved in a car smash even when it is not your fault.....me okay, car not I am afraid. I am in hire car for 12 weeks.......

First site was East Durris. Many cleg flies on arriving into car park - not a good sign. On goes liberal doses of Autan ( have you ever been bitten by a cleg fly ? Not a horsefly, a Cleg is MUCH worse as it slices into your skin and blood pishes out !). Anyway, as I was doing that two Common Crossbills flyover, both giving a Fc4 ( same as those on Shetland currently). I didn't get a sonagram, but to be honest, and without sounding smart, I didn't need one as to me Fc4 is the easiest of the 'Common' flight calls to do by ear. But a few minutes later they went back over and this time the Telinga got them, and yes they were Fc4 confirmed on computer later that night. The larches at this site were still green ( they do use them like that) but not quite there yet I thought.

I decided to hit a site a few miles to the West just before Strachan ( pronounced Stra'an). Here, on getting out the car a flock of at least 40 went over, and although it was a cacophany I could clearly pick out Fc4 and EcE from them ( the sonogram later confirmed this).

I followed parties of birds around for an hour and a half before a really serious thunder storm and torrential rain curbed activities. All the birds I observed were feeding on plantation Scots Pine cones that still had some seeds. They were highly mobile suggesting that they were being very selective about which cones they were using eg. ones they could open, and there weren't many of them. I saw quite a few males with the faint fringing on the greater coverts, again like those on Shetland. I also saw a courtship feeding between a male and female and these were 4E types ( so they might breed straight away !? ). I should point out 4E types have gone of the radar over the last two years in my area - I have recorded several, but nothing like the 25% or so that was present in 2007. On Monday I also recorded quite a few 1B types, one identical to a sonogram Dougie Preston sent me and also the 1A types that have been all over the place since the turn of the year.

Wednesday 15th July

Same site as second location at Strachan on 6th. Lots of birds and now feeding in the larches. Many singing, some with a song I have not heard............Some 1A types but many 4E's with their very distinctive flight calls ( these really are easy to do by ear, the easiest in fact as above !)

In upper Deeside semi-natural habitat Fc4 was present, so they have apparently penetrated the full Dee Valley. This is the first year where I know for sure the call types of the immigrant crossbills ( eg. are not just roaming or displaced resident birds) and have tracked them pretty much from the coast right up the valley, approx. 80 kms !

With many being reported in the South and East of England just now it would be very interesting to see if these are also 4E types - they may not be. Anyone ?

More Thoughts On Irruptive and Wing Barred Crossbills

2009-07-05T22:47:00.007+01:00

Reading through Birding World Vol.21 Number 8 Issue 260 it struck me how many of the Two-barred Crossbills in July and August influx to Shetland last year were juveniles ( in streaked plumage). The consensus was that these 'streakies' fledged in Spring 08, which according the BWP is fairly typical. There were also adult birds accompanying them and these had undergone post breeding moult (from the pictures) eg. they were in at least their second year.

On the other hand, the Orkney 'wing barred' crossbills in June and July this year to me look like birds which fledged very early this year or possibly late last year, typical of curvirostra's breeding patterns. It is unlikely that they would have such 'retarded' wing bars if they were genuine Two-Barred's in their second calendar year ? Even the streaked juvenile two barred's last year had strong white on their greater coverts. It is also unlikely that two barred crossbills that fledged in Spring 2009 would be so advanced into their post-juvenile moult as these recent Orkney curvirostra type specimens, again based on the streaked juveniles last year in July and August. Many of the birds that have been photographed recently in the Northern Isles appear to be these 'first summer' (or second year) types, exhibiting fringes on particularly the greater coverts and some on the tertials, with mottled body moult eg. males with green blotches. A good example of a wing-barred Common that even has broadening fringes towards the body ala Two-barred is HERE - still doesn't look 'right' for Two-Barred does it ?

I have been pondering where all these Common Crossbills have come from and why ? How about these scenerios, and please bear in mind I am just 'thinking out aloud' here eg. I reserve the right to change my options or be completely wrong !

1) The Common Crossbills are from either/and/or Finland, Norway, Sweden and North West Russia. A localised Larch and Spruce failure has meant birds now have to move from there as Scot's Pine will have shed most of their seeds. They are errupting from these (nearer) areas fairly recently.

2) The birds have possibly been moving from much further East or North/East for several months, foraging crops as they go, after breeding (late last year or late autumn) and there is a 'lag' effect. If they were coming from further East, then settling temporarily in areas in Finland, Sweden etc where other crossbill populations may also be present or resident, then we could assume that these would also be moving now for the same reasons - if so, there could be differences in call types, biometrics and stable isotope analysis of feathers for these different populations.

Common Crossbills normally errupt after a successful breeding season and/or coinciding with a poor spruce crop. This means there is usually a high percentage of juveniles. For example, in 2005 there appeared to be a significant proportion of streaked juveniles on rigs, Fair Isle etc.

If the 2009 irruption does not have a high incidence of streaked juveniles (which so far it doesn't seem to) then this possibly implies scenario 2) whereby regionally 'settled' birds have bred ( in the Autumn/Late Winter) and this food source has now become depleted and they are moving westwards over several months. Where they have come from is harder to establish, though stable isotope data should determine this ( to some degree). However, the calls so far appear to be only of one type predominantly 4E with only one 1B thanks to the efforts of Dougie Preston and Hugh Harrop. It would have been interesting to know what the Orkney and St.Kilda ones were. Perhaps 4E is less selected for the crops that are available where they are moving through (possibly Scots Pine which is still holding some seeds, though I have several records of 4E's using Scot's Pine in midwinter in Scotland - nothing is straightforward with crossbills !). If the call types of the influx birds are primarily of one variety then this perhaps suggests only one curvirostra type/morph/cryptic species is errupting the continent. It would be an interesting opportunity to try and understand why this is the case.

What would have been extremely interesting is if anyone had been sound recording the calls of crossbills in these continental regions over the last year or so - we basically need several LoxiaFan's in Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and on each of the Northern Isles ! We would then know what call types were present and also if there were any changes, and if these changes can be 'tracked' and in what directions. I would be particularly interested in comparing call types with deuterium levels in feathers maybe this could geographically map regional 'dialects' in crossbills populations within Europe as has been done in the USA. Knowing the status of the various cone crops in these areas would also be helpful.

I'll sleep on this and see what I think, but really these birds could have come from anywhere, but the significant observation here is the apparent lack of fresh juvenile birds and the call types of those birds that have been moving through Shetland.

I told you I had a feeling about this year and an irruption !

Raising The Bar

2009-07-04T17:35:00.006+01:00

Thought this might be of note to those currently interested in wing barred crossbills in the northern isles just now. Many thanks to Stuart Reeves for passing these on to me last year ( or year before ? ) -

I also recall reading something about the two-barreds from last years irruption in either Birding World or British Birds earlier this year or last year.

Hope this helps - if anyone could get me some recordings of any crossbills from up there that would be fantastic !

Barred For Life

2009-07-03T09:59:00.007+01:00

Following Alistair's comments below about the Orkney wing barred Crossbills, I thought I would post some pics of 'pine' crossbills with similar plumage structures.

First up, a first winter male, photographed in Deeside in October 2005, the picture quality is absolutely shocking ( light was bad and from the looks of it I might have been pointing the camera the wrong way round !):

However, you can clearly see it a male Parrot Crossbill ( first winter) based on the massive bill depth, and it has white fringes to the greater coverts and tertials, with some faint brown fringing on the median coverts.

Next, a cracking first winter male Parrot Crossbill caught in Deeside in October 2006:

This specimen (bill depth of 13.2mm) has light pale fringes to greater coverts, median coverts and tertials. Normally, these fringes if present are more buff brown in colour. An open wing shot of same bird:

I know some people don't like 'in the hand' shots like this but please appreciate these photographs are only taken to record such plumage and bill shape details of individual colour ringed specimens - they are not 'trophy' shots ! If they had not been taken you would not be reading this post ! All birds are processed as quickly as possible and released unharmed - this particular specimen has been re-sighted many times since its capture and release in October 2006 including feeding juveniles in 2007 and resighted again just a few weeks ago.

The Orkney wing-barred crossbills ? Well the female looks like a Common Crossbill version of my birds above. The male is obscured by foliage but I agree with one of the posters that the fringes look brown not white, and that the tertials are not visible. So for me one definite Common Crossbill (female) and one 'most likey' Common (male).

"We Come From The Land Of The Ice And Snow"

2009-06-29T23:23:00.003+01:00

A Common Crossbill irruption into the UK is now underway with 100's of birds passing through Shetland, Orkney (particularly North Ronaldsay) and the Western Hebridean Islands. A colleague is on St.Kilda just now though I can't get in touch, but I wager he will come back with tales of loadsa crossbills feeding on thrift !

Some individuals and small parties appear to be hitting the Scottish and English East coast as well and I did read reports of birds passing through (and being caught) at a Danish Bird Observatory. Fair Isle do not seem to be updating their site but I guess it must be crawling with pinemunchers just now.

Calls collected from these migrants would be extremely valuable in determing which call types are 'moving' in and how they infiltrate through the mainland when they arrive (assuming they do arrive - they may continue westwards to certain death in the Atlantic). Surprisingly, we are missing this data. Calls collected by Dougie Preston on Unst last week are interesting as these gave Fc4 calls, a call which has more or less disappeared on the mainland, certainly in NE Scotland. The dominant Common call just now is 1A, a particular variant I sometimes call 'the Parroty Common' due to the similarities of the calls with it's bigger 'cousin'. After the 2005 irruption I saw increases in call type 1B, though birds giving this combination were present in some numbers before the irruption. Thus, localised breeding may have accounted for this increase. Birds on Fair Isle or any of the Isles at this time of year are definitely migrants irrupting westwards. The calls they are giving are as important, possibly more so, as their biometrics. Also, and this is maybe just me, a variance in call structure is surely more significant in practical classification than a difference of 0.2mm in bill depth ( though the latter may have some function in foraging efficiency).

If the irruption continues I will be heading to the Northern or Western Isles myself in order to get some sound recordings. If anyone fancies tagging along and sharing the costs of a hire car, or contributing towards the costs of taking my own vehicle, do get in touch - we may be doing pioneering work !

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for crossbills particularly at coastal sites or on your patch where you haven't had any for the last year or so - they may well be all the way from Fennoscandia or even East of the Ural's !

I Like You Just As You Are

2009-06-22T18:02:00.003+01:00

It is that time of year where (part of) my attention drifts from birds to dragonflies !

A good find today at a site, in Donside. A female Azure Dameselfly, and the rare blue form at that....and in the pissing rain ! Apologies for poor photo due to rain and bad light, but you can clearly see what it is.

My better/other half had found several males at this site a few weeks ago but I got this cracking female one today suggesting an active population.

This is the most northerly population for Azure Damsel in the UK, certainly that has been reported through the usual gateways, so it just shows you what you can find if you bother to look ! Until this year they were unreported for the region, except an unconfirmed record from the 19th century near Aberdeen and one from South Kincardineshire in the early 20th Century.

Scotch Mist: The Scottish Crossbill No Longer Endangered ?

2009-05-28T19:54:00.013+01:00

Scottish Crossbill 'stable' and off the UK Red List !

On the news yesterday apparently and also press released HERE in full, summary below:

"Revival of threatened crossbill

The Scottish crossbill is only found in upland Scots pine forests. The Scottish crossbill, which is the UK's only unique species of bird, has been taken off a conservation charity's endangered list. The RSPB said the birds' population was thought to be stable enough to no longer be classed among the country's most threatened birds. The bird is one of the few success stories of the 2009 assessment. The number of species red-listed has risen 5% since 2002 to more than one in five of all the UK's bird species.

.....Last year, the organisation warned that climate change threatened the Scottish crossbill with extinction. Its population is only found in Scots pine forests, both ancient Caledonian forest and new commercial plantations.

The species can be seen in the Highlands, Cairngorms and upland areas of Perthshire and Argyll, according to the RSPB. A survey funded by the RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage found approximately 13,000 individuals of the endemic finch, meaning it is now amber-listed. "

Now, here was me planning to give you all a nice report on a Speyside crossbill fest and a Parrot Crossbill (rant/essay) but this is too topical to ignore, so apologies. Cue rant.
Right, so there are 13,000 Scottish Crossbills ? !!! And here was me thinking 10,000 was an excessive estimate ! Er, well you certainly can't say they are endangered if there are 13,000 of them in a tiny area such as Northern Scotland. However, it gets worse, much worse; as well as being found in the 'usual' areas, they were also apparently found in......shock horror.......Lodgepole Pine plantations in southern Sutherland ! I had to dig deep for info this gem but it is on the Net. And there was me saying those birdguides 'over the way' didn't know anything about Scottish Crossbills......though maybe they did the survey ?! Note the Beeb's (RSPB) press release states that Scottish Crossbills are only found in native scots pine woods and plantations, this of course is not the case ! I like the fact that a press release in 2008 threatens that Scotbill will be wiped out by global warming unless they relocate to Iceland and the following year it is taken off the Red List. Hardly consistent policy.

A few points:

1) I don't know what sampling methods were used to produce the figure of 13,000. However, I know that in Deeside they apparently didn't find much evidence for Scottish Crossbills in Spring 2008, when in my experience there was quite a lot about - the best year I have seen here. This might imply there are actually more than 13,000 ! The release states "13,000 individuals" were found. I would assume that this figure is in fact an Index produced by multiplying up the number of individuals found at a point sample location by the total surrounding forest area. If they truly did count 13,000 individual Scottish Crossbills then I stand corrected.

2) What calls exactly were classified as 'Scottish'. This is not clear cut IMO.

3) I don't hate the RSPB - quite the contrary I am a fully paid up supporter and think that anyone interested in birds should also support them. I know that will be unpopular with a lot of those 'serious' birder types, but the simple fact is that no organization is better placed to promote the conservation of birds (and other biodiversity) than RSPB. I don't agree with all their 'policies' just like the last political party I voted for ! Doesn't mean you shouldn't vote with your feet.

But I still can't help think this has all been a bit hasty. The results of this survey suggest there should be several thousands of Scottish Crossbills (not my experience here in Deeside at least) and that they have been found in non-native habitat will surely create 'interesting' challenges for their conservation. I understand the need for a census of the species, but I feel the taxonomy of all loxia in Scotland is ongoing, unresolved and, in my opinion, still 'data deficient'. There, I said it.

What do I think ? Well, it's a wildcard and won't win me many friends, but I think they might just have gone and got the wrong crossbill, certainly with respect to promoting the conservation of our native Caledonian Forests. There are (Scots) pine adapted Crossbills resident and thriving in the ancient native woodlands here in Scotland - and you don't get them 'on the (Lodge)'pole' over the winter. I am not denying that there are intermediate billed crossbills in Scotland that, for the time being at least, are specific to the region. However, it is an assumption to say that these 'intermediate'* billed types are the Scottish Crossbill, the relict species of the Great Forest of Caledon. Isn't it ?

A female Scottish Crossbill, one of 13,000.....alledgedly.

* Intermediate between Common and Parrot.

Scottish Crossbill

2009-05-23T01:33:00.004+01:00

A reasonable pic of one of my ringed birds (only metal ringed on right leg, and managed to read it in another photo). A pretty good example of what we call a Scottish Crossbill in Deeside at least. Biometrics (and release call) were all typical of currently accepted Scottish characteristics.

Now, go look at some pics of 'Scottish Crossbills' on the web and compare !

More reports to come soon inc. "Speyside The Rematch" (MEGA crossbill extravaganza), plus an 'essay' on Parrot Crosbill status, but very busy with fieldwork, reports and real work etc.

C yiz soon,

Linz

Nest Finding

2009-05-06T01:31:00.008+01:00

Awwwwww !

Had a bad day yesterday and my face strongly resembled the gubby (baby bird) on the right !

And here is mama ( or dada ?):

Avid readers of Stephen Menzie's dynamic and fantastic blog (see list to the right) will now be fully aware of the intracies of ageing Robins. The above bird looks like a 5 to me - wee bit of contrast in GC length and outer ones with prominent thorns (though not totally reliable).

A typical 'ringers eye view':

"Aaaaaaaaaargh !!!!"

More controvesial Crossbill stuff very soon, promise !

Speyside, Monday 20th April

2009-04-30T00:11:00.006+01:00

A busman's holiday for me today with a quick sortie over into Speyside to see what is happening with all things loxia.

Arriving late morning it was decided to target the woods at Grantown as I had heard from a correspondent that birds were present and nesting. Lots of dog walkers were an ominous sign (sorry, but I can't stand muts running about off the lead all over the place, though I do like dogs). The most abundant species was without doubt Siskin and we even had a female gathering moss and flying up to her nest.

The big open space after the curling ponds produced faint crossbill calls but the birds were very difficult to locate and we proceeded further into the wood. Shortly, 3 Parrots were found ( two males and one female). They flew directly over but muggins had forgot to switch on the power on the K6 module for the Sennheiser mic - twatsville ! I had decided to record on to minidisc as it is a bit more portable than the dish. All my 'other' recorders supply phantom power so I just forgot. Yes, I know it is reall amatuerish, but then, I am an amatuer. How did I know they were Parrots ? Well:

1) Their flight calls were a deep, slow "Choop", not the fast, thin "cheep's" of the commons that are abundant just now in the pinewoods.

2) They were MASSIVE ! They had big bodies and big heids = Parrot.

On we went, especially in search of Cresties for the missus. We reached a quiet area that I reckoned looked great for cresties - lots of pine snags, birches and some plantation. A bit of pishing brought one in and one of us had their day made......for the time being.

About a quarter of a mile on the track we turned the corner and CRRRRASH, a male Caper twenty yards away flew broadside right across the track and gave crippling views. Normally I hear them crash out of trees away from me so this was the closest I have been to a male ( I got really close to a female gritting at Glen Tanar once). It wasn't the first for my missus though definitely the best views. Surprisingly, we saw one flying a mile across a valley at a height of around 200 ft. just two days earlier on Deeside. Surreal.

Just when things couldn't get much better crossbills were calling all around though distant. Most of these were common types which have settled in the woods in large numbers waiting for the larch and sitka to cone. Typical 1A's though the ones with the 'parroty' looking Fc's (Fc's and Ec's present in this sonogram):

On the way back to the car we picked up that group near the open space by the curling ponds. A group of 8 Commons, all feeding happily on scots pine. As the flew off I got these flight calls:

Those with keen eyes will see the Fc4 type call in there. Another recording had a Fc associated with the type that is 1B - this has been the most dominant Common call for the last 3 years in NE Scotland at least, and seemingly wider afield. In late 2007 25-30% of the Common Crossbills we were catching were type 4E, the others mainly 1B and some 1A's of various sorts. With the larch failure and poor sitka crop things have been mixed up and 1A is now the most prolific call in NE Scotland. However, 4E and 1B are still present albeit in very small numbers. Clearly, the birds have been highly nomadic this winter due to crop failure. What is interesting is that 1A appears to have regained it's 'Scottish' Common status and the other types have apparently fizzled out, at least locally - dead or relocated, who knows ? It is going to be really interesting to see what types come in with the big irruption we are going to have this summer ( here's hoping, ringing licence poised and all) !

For anyone going to Speyside this Spring take heed: most of the crossbills in the native pinewoods just now appear to be Common types. Same over here in Deeside. Happy hunting !

Private Members Bill

2009-04-15T17:43:00.003+01:00

A nice bill study of a 'pine' crossbill. Somewhat spoiled by the grass in the way but a real impromptu 'stealth' shot. Will leave it up to the individual for identification.......but, let's just say if it was a 'published' photograph it would be a Scottish Crossbill. You do the math, as they say !

Got much better pics of both pine species but am holding these back for publication.

Well I'm Back..........Back In Black.

2009-04-09T12:57:00.004+01:00

Loxia Fantastica is back, at least in some form ! So, you can't accuse me of throwing all my toys out of the pram.... well you can I suppose, but I have just jumped out and bunged em all back in, if you want to think that way. I feel it is important to highlight some of the dedicated work that is (still) being undertaken on the loxia taxa and to at least continue to give it a UK, and dare I say, Scottish profile.

The 'lab' work and analysis/writing up is still well underway and all being well some may be in print later this year inc. some short notes/papers. Some potentially really exciting stuff for next year in the can. It is also giving me an opportunity to see exactly how much stuff I have for the CD project - I suspect I need at least one more Winter and possibly Spring to complete this, not sure - I want it to be as complete as possible but am beginning to accept that this may never happen....something 'new' always appears.

For all those keen bean loxia fanatics who simply can't wait there is an alternative: you can always do your own research/study/project ! But just remember, you will not always be able to identify every crossbill call, and, for every question you do think you answer be prepared for several more to be raised in response. Oh, and expect to spend a LOT of time in the field, sometimes with seemingly not much return. And, without biometric or biochemical data all you have is "this call was here then" and "this call (possibly) matches with this call". Useful yes, but not definitive, if there ever is such a thing with crossbills !

Waco Jaco Pastorius

2009-03-27T01:33:00.002Z

(Sighs deeply) Ahem ! Okay maybe time for something more constructive and less negative ?

Right, well here is the Weather Report ( get the title now ?) for NE Scotland. It is going to snow. When is it going to snow ? Very, very soon. How do I know this ? Easy, Crossbill nests. You see, every year when I am out checking nests and looking for more or recording singing males, there is at least several days where I am wading through two plus foot of snow. So far this year that has not happened. I do have some nests found so just waiting on the white stuff to come along and wipe half of them out. Admittedly they are a bit later this year but in all previous years females were sitting in snow flurries and storms. Hardy things crossbills.

And, if it doesn't snow then that global warming thingy is to blame and we are all dooooomed. But don't worry, the Scottish Crossbills will all be okay as apparently they will migrate to Iceland, said an expert. Apparently.

Wind Of Change ( not the Scorpions)

2009-03-19T01:26:00.004Z

At last, common sense prevails:

"From Nigel Hudson-BBRC SecretaryJust to let you all know that at last week-ends' BBRC AGM, held at Minsmere, 3 species were taken off the BBRC list as from Jan 1st 2009. The 3 species are Cattle Egret, White-billed Diver and Parrot Crossbill.For Cattle Egret & White-billed Diver please continue to send any records prior to 1st Jan 2009 to the BBRC. In particular Cattle Egret records should not be ignored as we want to have as complete picture of the influx for any future researchers. Parrot Crossbill is slightly different in that very few records have been submitted for a number of years, and BBRC will not be looking at retrospective records.Also do continue to send records for these species to your County Recorder."

This all means that in this year's NESBR 2008 I don't have to justify not sending my Parrot Crossbill records to BBRC for their verification. Hooha ! I don't think they would have thanked me if I sent them every Parrot record I had somehow.

Kinda ironic though as nearly every photo I see of a 'Scottish Crossbill' on Birdguides, Surfbirds, Bird Forum etc is actually a Parrot Crossbill ! Maybe they(BBRC), or perhaps more appropriately, someone else should be reviewing those records after all ?

At Last......Jenni and Winkler !

2009-03-13T23:34:00.003Z

You remember that scene from 'Waynes World' - the one where Wayne is drooling over the 'glass case' Olympic white Fender Stratocaster uttering "Oh, Yes... One day it shall be mine" ? Well I've got two of those, neither White though. You see for me the proverbial 'White Stratocaster' has been owning my very own copy of.... cue trumpets....bam, bam, baaaam :

Yep, good ole Jenni and Winkler's "Moult and Ageing of European Passerines". Well now I do, or should I say as of Wednesday I do thanks to the very nice lady I bought it from sending it out very quickly. I won the recent auction of a copy on ebay bidding £100, the minimum reserve set for it. The closest other bid was £99.99. So I won by 1 pence. Ouch. To that individual I must apologize - it is the bargaining equivalent of a tennis shot that hits the top of the net and flops over at match point. If it is any consolation my maximum bid was much higher than £100. I also got up to put in my final bid at 7.30 am on a Saturday morning, my busisest day, so you see I really do deserve it.

Was it worth it ? Well at £100 it is £150 cheaper than the one currently on Amazon. For an out of print book it is a fair price I think and I am delighted to finally get one, especially in such good condition. It is going to be real handy too in terms of ringing - contrast in GC's with Robin's has always been a bone of contention with me, and I tend to use tail shape and, in Autumn to late Winter at least, the colour of the inner upper mandible. Iris colour useful too ala Dunnocks. This bookie has some nice wing examples of typical, and atypical specimes which put into pictures what Svensson puts into words. Invaluable for a ringer this book certainly is.

However, fear not if you don't have one or can't foresee owning one before the surely necessary reprint. THIS site may serve as decent stopgap meantime. It did for me.

Common As Muck

2009-03-11T13:08:00.003Z

Howdy all. Appologies for paucity of posting but it is crazy time again for me - birds are nesting and it is all go for the season !

Sunday and Monday this week I had quite a lot of Common Crossbills in mid Deeside. It was difficult tracking them with the high winds but interesting stuff all the same. Most were in parties of 6 to 8 though I did have a flock of 22. The smaller parties are probably fragmented family groups. Birds were singing and displaying which is always great to watch, though no great recordings as the wind was howling !

I have been finding quite a lot of Common Crossbill parties in the native pinewoods and plantations since December 08, particularly in mid and lower Deeside. These birds have all been feeding on Scots pine as there has been little else for them to munch. Contrary to popular belief they can forage from unopened Scots Pine cones - just not very efficiently. This year they have not had much choice. However, most will seek out those trees where the cones have started to open - I found one such tree with a Parrot, 3 Scotties and a Common near Banchory in December (see post below from December).

Last week caught up with some Scottish 'Pine' Crossbills at a native pinewood:

It is going to be all hands on deck for the next 3 months plus I have loads to write up, so will appologize now if the posts are not forthcoming ! Do stay tuned in just incase........

The Dangers of Submitting Records

2009-01-23T20:04:00.003Z

All of this Birse stuff has got me googling and I came up with this Aberdeenshire Council Planning proposal:

Mmmm that's interesting, Scottish Crossbill has been listed as 'notable' Biodiversity in relation to a planning application, which may or may not have been approved - I don't know. Bullfinch as well. Then the penny dropped - are those my records ! ? So I checked my notebooks and there in black and white for 28th November 2004 were Bullfinch and Scottish Crossbill at Finzean ! Now, the Bullfinches were seen in a drive by near to the Manse so fair enough, but the Scotties were actually seen over 2 miles away, though the correct Grid Ref. was given ! So what relevance do they have for this planning application ? None, I would imagine. I do hope the vicar got his new graveyard in the end.

These records must have been obtained from ones I submitted to The Northeast Of Scotland Bird Report. I have been species author for the three Crossbill types we have for the last 3 or 4 Journals but must confess I have not submitted any individual records of crossbills since then, primarily for reasons such as this (which I didn't know about) - basically, your data being used for things, and ways, that you have no control over. Essentially, it becomes 'Public Domain' for any interested party to use as they see fit. Yes, it does kind of make me feel guilty, but one day I will make sure it is all passed on after I have written it all up and done what I have wanted with it. It has, afterall, taken many, many hours of collecting sound samples and observations over these last 5 (!) years. Also, I do summarize my records in the report so at least there is some input ! Most of the locations are supressed as they are vital ringing sites susceptible to human disturbance, as well as being key nesting sites during the breeding season. So, if anyone does think I am a bit off hand or 'covert' regarding these things please bear these factors in mind !

Rest assured though- if it was serious planning proposal that could destroy or compromise habitat and threaten the species I would not stand back.........however, would I even know about it ? This is my problem, and thus the guilt continues.............

"Breaking The Law, Breaking The Law", January 3rd

2009-01-21T01:00:00.004Z

Priceless stuff this folks and definitely one for the memoirs ! Unlike that Mr. Von Meinertzhagen chappie everything you read on this blog is absolutely true. Last year's nonsense at Forest of Birse will have to wait for the official biography but here is the exclusive scoop on this New Year extravaganza.

Saturday 3rd January - fabulous day, no work schedule, no breath of wind. Perfect sound recording conditions. So off up Deeside we go to a site near Ballater that is good for Scottish Crossbills. On arriving there conditions were perfect - bright sunshine, snow lying and very cold. Great potential for birds singing as they are getting a bit frisky just now.

On parking the car out comes recorder and parabola, on goes boots. Meantime my missus goes off to photograph some scenery. Just as I was getting the camera out of the car a police Landrover crawls past with the occupants having a 'good look' at me. Ok, maybe thought I was a bit dodgy - dressed in green gear (but not camo) , calf boots, typical 'ringer look' which is, well, dodgy. So I kept getting my stuff together and assembled the parabola. Police Landrover now comes back down the road and this time pulls up. Two PC's get out one female the other male. The female officer started a conversation along the lines of :

"Allright, Sir ? What are you up to ? "

"Birdwatching" is my reply.

Female PC pointing at parabola - " Quite a lot of kit. What is that for" ?

Me - " for recording birdsong, I am recording crossbills in the nearby woods".

Male Police officer - "How far away can you hear with that".

Me, and I paraphrase - " It can pick up a gnats fart at 200 yards".

Them - "Oh" !

Then I was subjected to a full Police check - Car Reg, full name ( including my middle name), mothers name, address, place of birth, favourite band, etc. The male cop radioed all my details back to base awaiting result. I also had to give full details of what I was doing there eg. studying crossbills. They also had a real good look in the boot of my car.

Now, I am a tolerant guy, believe it or not, but this was beginning to wear a bit thin with me and I was just about to say "look I am not going to answer any more questions until you tell me what this is in relation to" when -

Female PC - " You will understand sir why we are doing this ".

Me - " No, to be honest I have not got a clue".

Female PC - " Well, this is clearly a very sensitive area".

Me, in surprise - "What, recording crossbills in Deeside ?"

Female PC - "No, it is sensitive in terms of who might be here".

Me - " Ah, the Royals ?". "I can assure you I am not remotely interested in recording them !".

Female PC - no answer.

Male PC to Female PC " Check has come back a clean slate".

Well that is reassuring at least. I am who I said I am.

I was then advised it would be best if I wasn't still there at 1.15pm and that it would be really nice of me if I did not take the parabola with me. Or my camera ( which had a 18-70mm lens on !). I asked if I could take my bins. Yes was the answer. Well thanks a bunch ! Of course I complied as things can be made very difficult if you don't, and whilst I later felt somewhat 'mugged', I have been told I handled it well. Or, at least as well as you can. To be fair the Cops were actually okay and were clearly only doing their job, however at one point I had visions of me in an orange boiler suit and leg shackles on a Cuban annexe all for being in the 'wrong place at the wrong time' armed with a Telinga parabola.

So, I had my walk and somewhat predictably, and thankfully, I never saw or heard a single crossbill. Nada. Nicht. So, there was some poetic justice ! Hopefully our future heir to the Kingdom enjoyed his walk. Makes me laugh that my missus avoided all of this - talk about perfect timing.

Now, moral of the story: remember the words of the song "If you go down to the woods today......".

Happier times, recording and watching 3 Scottish and 1 Parrot Crossbill with 1 Common Crossbill near Banchory....a Royal free zone apparently. That is frost on the parabola BTW !

Cones Glorious Cones !

2009-01-01T00:13:00.007Z

Whilst you serious 'real' birder types are out chasing rare LBJ's around our coasts I, as you know, tend to be in the pine woods chasing crossbills about. Nuts ? Absolutely. Weird ? Of course. In need of 'help' some time very soon ? Yes you are. Well I am afraid for me it gets worse. I am not just obsessed by the Crossbills themselves, or even the sounds that they make, how deep their bills are, how long their wings are etc. You see, I am obsessed by all things crossbill. This includes what they eat, and that gentlemen, and gentle lady persons, is these:

The above image was taken in upper Deeside in mid November. It is clearly a green Pinus sylvestris, and the crossbill has opened the closed scales to get at the seeds inside. Now, if you do this long enough you can, with some degree of confidence, tell the species that depredated the cone. In this case I can go one better ( is thata Tap'ism ?) and say that it was a Scottish Crossbill male that I call Brian who has feasted on this cone. I joke, of course I don't give all them names. That would mean I really was crazy.

Here are some more from last week, notice that the cones are semi-open. It should normally be February before this happens, though I suspect it was a freak tree:

These cones above were created by an interesting mixed group including a Parrot type female (call and visual ID). Only 25 miles from Aberdeen as well ! Got some amazing behavioural stuff from this group, the kind of stuff you can only get by watching them closely in the field or 'arsing it' as the late DNT used to say.

This sample on the other hand, were all created by the same crossbill type, on calls and appearance:

These are closed cones again that the crossbills have had to prise them open. On a cold frosty day as it was this is hard work - it was hard work recording and observing them I nearly passed out with the cold due to hypothermia.

What are the crossbills in your area feeding on ? This, in my opinion, is more important than the type of call they are giving, this year at least.

It's Official - Bird Forum Admin Read Loxia Fantastica !

2008-12-31T22:36:00.002Z

Well, well. I have just been emailed by a regular LF fan (there is at least one) that those lurvely chaps and chappess's at Bird Forum Admin have deleted the link to this blog from all of my posts on their site. Nice touch - keep all my posts ( and pictures, which I will be contacting you about in the New Year as you do not have my permission to display them) but delete the link to my blog cause you're scared someone might read something negative about you ! Owww dibins.

I can only take it then that Bird Forum Admin actually do read this fantastic blog before you. Good ! I hope some of the reality of your actions and your blatant bias hits home, though I sincerely doubt it will though. Just a thought - in my opinion Bird Forum seems to be dying of death these days - there are fewer posts by the 'old school' that were very prolific on there a few years ago. Maybe more people are writing blogs which I think on the whole is much healthier - there is no agenda or biased moderation that is rife on Bird Forum. What you see is what you get, and if you don't like it you don't have to read it.

Strength is the ablity to be capable of listening to criticism, and when necessary, take it on the chin. It appears Bird Forum isn't strong and can't take any criticism. It panders to the whimsical rantings of certain members that they are 'chummy' with to the detriment of others.

No more BF criticism from now on I promise - lets just let it (BF) die of death in peace.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE ! 2009 is going to be a mega crossbill year and er...if its not then it will be 2010 !

The Dangers of Bird Forum

2008-12-31T19:46:00.009Z

Here is a priceless gem of a piece of journalism, and I use that term loosely, by reporter Vicky Collins and many reasons why you should watch what you say on that orcale of birding knowledge that is Beginner Forum, and I suppose on blogs too ! She was such a good journalist that when she was given the task of writing a piece on Britain's only endemic the Scottish Crossbill she apparently only used Bird Forum as her primary source ! If you haven't read this please do and have a good laugh. At the time I had to delete all my posts so she didn't use them in her article. She was also emailing me asking if "I was affiliated with the RSPB" so she could get some dirt. As you all know I am not. I did warn the RSPB and being such nice guys they probably didn't tell her to just go and forth and fornicate as I would have - jeez it's great not to be moderated !

Here it is, enjoy !

"Feathers Flying Over Scottish Crossbill: is It a Unique Species? Ornithologists' Dispute Rages on the Net"

Posted on: Friday, 4 November 2005, 09:00 CST

By VICKY COLLINS ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT

ITis a pastime usually associated with quiet hours spent observing nature, but now a bitter row over Scotland's only unique species is dividing the world of bird-watching.
Ornithologists are questioning the very existence of the Scottish crossbill, which was officially identified as a separate and endemic species only four years ago.
Arguments about the status of the bird, which is virtually identical to the common crossbill except for a slightly higher and less staccato call, have been raging on one of the biggest internet birdwatching sites. Birdforum. net, which has more than 33,000 members, features heated discussions about the Scottish crossbill, with many claiming it is not a separate species and has been designated as such only because of its usefulness to conservation bodies.
There are three crossbill species in the UK: common, which is widespread, the slightly larger and far rarer parrot, and Scottish, whose size is midway between the other two.
They all rely on pine trees for their food, with the Scottish crossbill said to live exclusively in Scots pine forests.

It was declared a separate species four years ago after research by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) found it did not breed with the other two species.
So far, DNA tests have shown no differences between the three.
However, many Birdforum members are highly sceptical about its existence. Michael Frankis, from Newcastle, argues the Scottish crossbill's status has less to do with scientific evidence than it does with the need for a flagship species that can be used to attract funding for the preservation of Caledonian pine forests.
"The more interesting the species, the more likely it is to get funding (politicians being what they are! ), " he writes.
"Which one? Capercailzie - what, a re-introduced species that is also common in two other EU countries? - No, sorry. Red Grouse? - Endemic, yes, but not a pine forest species. No, won't work. Aha - invent a crossbill! That does the job just nicely.
"Of course the official UK ornithological bodies will strenuously deny all of the above because, if they don't, the funding might get stopped."
Everyone contributing to the online argument admits the near impossibility of identifying a Scottish crossbill, and two members of the forum claim the call associated with the species has been heard at least twice in Kielder Forest, in Northumberland.
Another contributor, jpoyner, lives in Strathspey, the heartland for Scottish crossbills. He reports several sightings of mixed pairs of crossbills in the forests there and questions whether the Scottish species may in reality be a cross between them.
An RSPB spokesman said:
"RSPB Scotland has carried out a detailed research project.
The results have yet to be published, but at this stage the indications are that the Scottish crossbill should still be regarded as a separate species."
THE THREE UK VARIETIES
COMMON CROSSBILL
Description: chunky finch with large head and bill
Length: 16.5 cm
Wingspan: 27 to 30.5cm
Plummage: mainly red with dark wings and tail
PARROT CROSSBILL
Description: large, powerful finch with deep parrot-like bill and sharply forked tail
Length: 17.5 cm
Wingspan: 30.5 to 33 cm
Plummage: orange to red with dusky wings and tail with dark wings and tail
SCOTTISH CROSSBILL
Description: chunky, thick-set finch with large head and substantial bill
Length: 16.5 cm
Wingspan: 27.5 to 31.5cm
Plummage: mainly red with dark wings and tail
Source: Herald, The; Glasgow (UK)

Rather than highlight the list of absolute howlers and gross inaccuracies that Miss Collins has written regarding the species let's just look at what the BF's said. Michael Frankis used to be on BF and appeared to be a very knowledgeable guy. But, maybe it is just me, he really comes out of this sounding, well, quite silly ? Yeah, I can just see the RSPB having a Black Op's unit to invent a species for funding the preservation of the Caledonian Pine Forests ! Believe me the RSPB can do this themselves. The argument also falls flat when we take into consideration that scotica also thrives in non-native and mixed plantations of the type that Forestry Enterprise own !

As to JPoyner's "mixed pairs" how does he know they are mixed pairs ? Based on calls, which as far as I know none of the Speyside guides know anything about (even though, and I quote, "they are working with scientists to obtain the technology" to do this ! )? Based on apparent bill sizes, when in reality there is overlap and variation within species ? Nope, thought not.

Two things come out of this:

1) Bird Forum (and the web at large) is full of misinformation and faulty information and opinions that have no basis or peer validation. There is some really good stuff, but......

2) Most journalists are idiots who don't know the meaning of 'research', or certainly doing their own !

Be careful out there people !

The Danger Of Sonograms ?

2008-12-25T00:38:00.004Z

Cracking day up here in NE Scotland today. Prime site visit today so hopes were high.

Arrived at around 11.30am a bit later than hoped but just as the remaining fog had been burned off by the sun. The woods (native pine) were pretty quiet save for a few coalies and the odd Siskin and a parties of Redpoll sp. over.

I picked up (by ear) a small group of crossbills flying down the valley from me, distance around 200 to 250m hence faint sonograms:

These reminded me of sonograms of a suspected Parrot at Potarch posted on Bird Forum (arggh) last year, or earlier this year, I forget which. Are these Parrot Fc2's and if so why ? Discuss. Come, on the blog is getting more interactive and lets get it onto Crossbills ! The black 'noise' BTW is not because my DAT mic has packed in but is in fact white noise from a stream that was behind where the birds were flying. Like all parabolas this high frequency stuff is really pronounced.

Here is another one from the same recording at around 17 secs:

Same birds ? Different type ? Tune in later for my synopsis and thoughts, which might just hopefully make you all stop trusting sonograms at face value. It's all in the evidence I supplied above.

And that was it for the day. I got excited later when I saw pine seeds floating down from a Scots Pine ( ladden with perfect cones for crossbills BTW) but no falling cones made me suspcious - these should be affling every 1 to 2 minutes per bird. And there he was, a Red Squirrel munching away of Pinus sylvestris.

Scottish Crossbills R Eeezeee !

2008-12-24T00:12:00.008Z

"Are you looking at me Jimmy ?"

Rightee o all ranting regarding Burd Forum now almost officially over and blog back to normal. However, was informed that KCFoggin is in fact a woman. So ? Still a twat. Apparently, Andy Bright is a woman too. Or a Pink Fairy, I forget. And Sandy, it wisnae just ower a jaicket - the guy was a turd and being insulting to the 99% of normal people who are happy with their gear ! Just like the gimp who thought that because you me and Uncle Tom Cobbly are happy with our 'leaky' Swarovski's or Leica's where the knob has gone stiff then we must be mentally deranged or 'dudes'. I think we all know who the mentally deranged ones are. Will keep checking out BF sporadically for crossbill stuff in Lurkerland but will not be contributing - I am no doubt banned( again) anyway ! I am especially interested in the post today of Common Crossbills feeding on Western Hemlock. in Ingerland. I am not surprised by this, more at a later date. Anyway, I digress.....

A short trip out today to a site near a village called Finzean. It's pronounced Fing' in BTW kinda like the whole John Menzies thing. On the way there a Jay was a welcome sight - quite a few around most of Deeside this year. I like Jay's, the best crows there are. Next to Choughs that is.

Very quiet in the woods save some sma' shite ( coati's, crests and creepers) moving through in feeding flocks. Did some scanning with the parabola and picked up something faint - finch type chatter but not crossbill, that I know, and not redpoll, siskin. FTW ? Oh well. Quite a lot of old foraging evidence by Scottish Crossbills on the floor so kept optimistic.

About ten minutes later I was on to something. Not a breath of wind today so a falling cone 100m away was easily heard and a dead giveaway along with chipping calls birds given when feeding. On goes recorder up goes Telinga. Recognized through the 'phones Scottish Fc's, or chip calls, and then two 'toop' ( excitement calls). Then they scarppered. Didn't even see them, such is often the case with Crossbills in plantations but there were 4 ( from the calls on the sonogram).

That was it. Another hour of gubbing about produced nothing and by 2.00pm it was technically dusk - light until 3.30pm but everything was away to roost. Not desparately exciting but a good result all the same - evidence of (a few) Scotbills in the plantations and feeding on Scot's Pine (which they were). Will they breed here in the Spring ?

More action this week given the high pressure over next few days at least. Key site tommorrow so hopefully more to report. Bonus point to anyone who can tell me what calls the bird in the pic above gave, or what the species is: hint it's not a Common Crossbill.

And a seasonal message folks - "Remember, A Paramo Jacket Is Not Just For Xmas, It's For Life " !

Letter To KCFoggin Bird Forum Moderator

2008-12-21T00:57:00.009Z

Some readers may also follow my exploits on Bird Forum. Well, not any longer I am afraid. I have just had that oh so predicatble "you're being a naughty boy and if you don't buck up we are going to remove you from our hallowed, beloved forum" from Bird Forum 'Admin' ! Not Andy Bright this time which makes a change. Well go fornicate yourselves Bird Forum Admin. I'll say that again cos I can on here, it's MY show after all. Why don't you all go f**k yourselves Bird Forum Admin.

For anyone that hasn't got a clue what I am talking about you will need to read the thread HERE. However, its Bird Forum, it's not cool and using it will totally mess you up. Just say "no". I would probably advise that you just watch the shopping channel or organize your CD collection instead.

Basically, I had two posts removed where I defended myself against this complete sphincter called "Joespy" who seems to have taken totally disproportionate offence to my balanced view of problems he has had with his Paramo jacket. Because he has a faulty jacket he thinks anyone who is happy with theirs must be an idiot. I should add I don't own a Paramo jacket but I hate these self righteous pricks - remember all the "my Leica's have a stiff focus knob" and "my EL's have a hole in them so they are not waterproof ( though I haven't actually tested that )" threads on the binocular Forums two years ago by Godawfulun ? These people should not be on Bird Forum they are clearly care in the community. I think they should change the name to BB Forum - "Bunny Boiler Forum".

I then get this gem of a PM from Uber Mod KCFoggin ( should that be Fogey ? ). Zeig Heil, Zeig Heil !! :

[KCFoggin]Sorry, but you need to settle yourself down a bit or admin is going to do it for you via removing you from membership. Surely you can get your point across in a less antagonistic way. Either conduct yourself in a manner suitable for forum activities or you are going to be removed. KCStaff[QUOTE]

Weeeell, maybe he just caught me at a bad time - earlier this evening I had been very disappointed to see Tom win the "Strictly Come Dancing Final". It is clear that Lisa should have won or at least made the last two as she had a perfect score from the judges. It shattered me. At least he opened with "sorry" before the "Vee vill take you out a szshoot zu iv you do not comply"

Anyway, I replied to KCDontLogginAgain with this :

"Dear KC,

You have removed two of my posts in reply to a very derogatory post by a BF member clearly insinuating that I am a w4anker yet his offensive post remains there in all it's un-modded glory. Clearly you must agree with him ? So, someone can basically call me a w4anker in pseudo language, but for me to say " go fornicate yourself " (verbatim) in reply is offensive ? Get real. Or at least be consistent. Clearly too difficult a task for BF 'Admin'.

All of my posts on this particular thread have been objective and I have only retorted 'in kind' when I have been provoked by this particular individual. My opinions have been balanced and well argued throughout, though he has ignored this and so do you now.

I am finished with Bird Forum so don't bother going to the trouble of removing me or don't bother replying to this as I will not get your response - it will be blocked as SPAM.
Clearly you intend Bird Forum to be a place for people like Joespy: I notice most of the decent, knowledgeable and serious birders from a few years ago have all left Bird Forum, or more likey have been removed by 'Admin'. Mmmm, wonder why.......

Out of interest did you also send Joespy a message like the one below you sent me ? No, thought not. Your loss. You can stick your Forum. There will be a detailed account of this, and your particular actions and comments going on my blog in an effort to discourage decent people from endorsing this sham of a site and the apparently biased actions of it's moderators. I know this as I am not the only one.

I can say what I like on my blog tough guy...."do it for you" indeed !

Goodbye. "

However, it gets more sinister. If you read the quote by BitternTwisted in post #34 by Markulous the orginal post from where the quote is taken has mysteriously disappeared ! Now, BitternTwisted I think might just have been sticking up for me by correcting Joespy's use of language and making him look a bit stupid. So, it's not just my posts being deleted, other people's innocent ones are too. However, Joesspy's snidy and derogatory post has been left. Clearly he is a friend of KKKFoggin. People, this is what you are accepting by contributing to Turd Forum.

I recall recently a Moderator being really nasty with a BF member on a photography thread. He was clearly using his position of authority to bully this poster. If anyone else had taken a similar tone they would have been 'terminated'. What an absolute prick.

So, do you want the good news or the good news ? Well, the good news is that I won't be contributing anymore to Turd Forum. The other good news ? Well, I thought that would be obvious - I've got to have somewhere to rant so that will continue to be on here. Loxia Fantastica will continue to inform the world of all things crossbills......plus other assorted shite.

Bird Forum, well they can just go forth and fornicate. Oh, but KfCFriedChickenAgain if you are reading this, and I do hope you are, you and BF do now not herewith have permission to hold and display my images of crossbills. You can start by taking off the one of the Scottish in Opus. I did not give permission to use that picture there. As I recall, a moderator put it there. Says it all really. You do not now have my permission to display these images that are my copyright. They were submitted in good faith. You have eroded that faith and any permissions are herewith formally retracted. They are my copyright and I resign my membership of your crappy birding community. And don't get that fat fairy Andy Bright to write and tell me that because they have been put on bird Forum that you are not in the wrong. Remove them now or "we'll do it for you". My agent will be in touch. Not nice is it you tosser.

VOTE WITH YOUR FEET -DO NOT SUPPORT BIRDFORUM !

"Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now ? "

2008-12-15T18:52:00.005Z

I hate to follow the trend of quitting blogging and following messrs. Allwood and McKinney (and possibly Menzie ?) in finally putting fingertip to keypad but I really am wondering who is reading this high quality crossbill copy that I write and wondering if it is worth continuing. Averaging around 4-5 hits per day it hardly seems anyone gives a monkey about crossbills in stark contrast to the two aforementioned blogs that were far more popular and who still decided to quit. Go work that out !

So, I am going to take a short sabbatical to review things ( actually, to write up some more stuff and to finally finish y CD of Crossbill recordings which should be available next year). My gosh, I have turned into a 'desk ornithologist' - shoot me. No, don't worry the fieldwork will continue, especially ringing crossbills ( on my own !!). I will also be starting a new blog linked through my professional website which will be updated in the New Year.

Keep tuned in all 5 of you as there may be sporadic updates.

All the best, your friendly neighbourhood Loxiafan.

10,000 Light Years........

2008-12-03T01:48:00.006Z

On the "One Show" BBC1 tonight Tuesday 2nd December there was a short piece on.....wait for it......Britain's only endemic the Scottish Crossbill or, as it is known in some parts, Loxia doiexistorno. Reporter Mike Dilger was with Ron Summers in Abernethy hot on the trails of the Scottish Crossbill. Dilger stated that as a result of the 2008 RSPB Survey "10,000 Scottish Crossbills were discovered, 10 times more than were previously thought to have exist". Well FMSWABP (it's a McKinney-ism so go work it out -RIP Tommo btw), but this is a family blog ! 10, 000 Scottish Crossbills ! I'll say it again...10,000 Scottish Crossbills ! Whoah..what methodolgy produced a figure like that and what is the bias or error involved ?

I missed the actual show due to work committments but my missus told me about it. She even made notes ( I can now call her my secretary). I saw the 10,000 bit she wrote down and peed myself. Luckily I was wearing my incontinence pants at the time. I managed to watch the show on the BBC site on her computer (mine doesn't like the BBC) and it is on at about 20 odd minutes. Strangely, it now appears to have disappeared or been removed from the BBC "One Show" site. RSPB PR department intervention conspiracy theory anyone ? Surely Not.

Highlights for me were that after twenty minutes of lure playing none of these 10,000 Scottish Crossbills were apparently tempted in. It's true what they say in film making.....never work with small children or animals. Now add to that men holding Telingas. A pair finally were spotted ( after stopping the lure). These looked like common types to me on bill morphology - they didn't call ! Also, I have never thought of Scottish excitement calls as sounding 'flutey', but maybe that is just me. Reeks of typical BBC journo agenda editing to me. Never trust journalists as they can never be relied on to get the facts right. Oh, well I'm off to count the Scotties in Deeside. By my reckoning there should be at least 1/5 to 1/3 of the Scottish population present. If I count 300 I reckon I'll be doing very well............

A Scottish Crossbill. There are 9,999 others.....apparently.

New Toyz ( and it's not even Christmas !)

2008-12-03T01:25:00.009Z

Took the plunge and got a Nikon D300 Camera and a Nikon 300mm AFS ED f4 prime lens for my hide photography.

It's early days and just getting used to the camera but seems a big improvement on the D70s I have been using over the last 3 years.

All pics were taken at Allenvale Cemetery last week, unfortunately I missed the Waxies with the new rig - too busy catching (or trying to catch) them. All images shot in the open from tripod as fine jpegs and adjusted only for levels and slight unsharp mask to add a bit of 'punch'. Best viewed full size by clicking on them. Not bad for my first attempts with the new combo. I also forgot just how relaxing bird photography is - it's like fishing ! Guess I have been sound recording for too long.

My old Tamron 'BigRon' 200-500 is pretty good but the 300mm is making me try to get closer and giving me better speeds and improved sharpness. I am sure I can get even better results if I stick at it. Combined with the better quality higher ISO of the D300 it really is quite impressive for a sub £2000 rig. It's still a lotta dosh though.

Next on the agenda is some small finches and garden birds to see how the rig will cope with crossbills later next year ! Gonna have to dust off the hides and get some sites baited up (not for crossbills !). Problem is I have a conflict of interests: I am a ringer and also want to catch them !

2008-11-17T21:35:00.000Z

'Scottish' Darters Anyone ?, Thursday 2nd October

2008-10-03T01:35:00.021+01:00

Okay. some retrospective stuff, more to come. A fantastic day in Aberdeen today so thought we would make the most of the sunshine and check a site very near the city where we have had quite a lot of Common Darters since July this year.

It didn't take long to find some basking male and I spotted a pair in tandem along with several patrolling male Common Hawkers.

A typical Common Darter type for the site:

The taxonomy of Common and Highland Darter is comparable with that of Common and Scottish Crossbill - fraught with pitfalls and often vague ! However, the live specimens that I have examined in NE Scotland are markedly different from those more typical of nigrescens I found in Glen Affric and on the whole appear to be more characteristic of striolatum which seems to be spreading northwards along the east coast of Scotland. Last year I even had one in my garden in the city and there are no known pools in the neighbourhood. Most of the ID books I have do not show striolatum (Common) this far north but all my records will go towards the new Atlas.

Here is a profile of a basking striolatum from the site near Aberdeen :

And here is a fantastic and similar posed pic of a nigrescens to compare features:

Photo:Paul Ashton

Note the extensive black markings along the side of the thorax in nigrescens, the insect also appears more 'substantial' and robust though this may be age related. The black bands on segment 2 is not failsafe in my opinion as in the top picture these are thicker ala that suggested for nigrescens yet this specimen was clearly striolatum.

Here is one of my Glen Affric ones from July 2008:

A recent BDS Bulletin has a small update on research being conducted to determine whether or not nigrescens is a different species from striolatum. The preliminary results suggested no significant differences in DNA between specimens from Southern climes and those up here in the North, and that nigrescens is merely a 'dark morph'. Sounds familiar, ha-ha !

The Empire Strikes Back, Monday 22nd September

2008-10-03T01:03:00.003+01:00

In stark contrast to yesterdays successful Scotbill fest the same dynamic and intrepid team of Loxia experts tried another 'all or nothing' site and........................yep that's right, we got nothing ! Strange as conditions were perfect for catching and there were quite a few birds about. However, they were obviously guzzling somewhere else, indeed I had two Parrot males with a female drink at a nearby bog pool that looked really uninviting for crossbills. Just goes to show "expect the unexpected". The large flocks I had two weeks ago had seemingly evaporated - the question is to where ?

Maximum count was 15 ( in one group) and there were small parties and singles over all day including some Common types ( sounded like Fc1).

Peewit Fest, Sunday 28th September

2008-10-03T00:48:00.005+01:00

No Crossbills today, instead I opted for a canon net catch of Lapwings on the Ythan with GRG.

A fantastic bright and sunny autumnal day, warm in the sun and not too early a start which, for someone who works late like me, is a real plus point. Firing in eraly afternoon we caught 105 Lapwings ( 2 later escaped from the sacks they were temporarily held in - not my fault !) , 1 Golden Plover and 9 Starlings. I got to do a whole chunk of the peewits and it was a chance to do some wader type bios - total head, bill length and total foot as well as wing measurements on birds larger than I am used to. Perhaps rather worryingly we only caught one juv and this was a bird that was ringed at Rattray as a pullus by another GRG member. Has it been such a poor year for breeding with Lapwings ?

A few of the adults had completed their primary moult and most were only one primary short of completing. Some were showing signs of weird secondary moult with seemingly retained feathers. Fantastic birds to handle though, one of the best I have done.

I also got to do the Goldie after 'drawing lots' with one of the trainers ( for whom it would also have been a ringing tick ). I aged it as a juv according to Marchant.

Got to do a large chunk of the catch and subsequently learned lots. Rather bizzarely it was a ringing session where there were 3 trainers and only one trainee.

Scotbill Fest ! Sunday 21st September

2008-09-26T01:30:00.013+01:00

Okay, non-believers please stop reading now ! You may not want to read this post as it contains images which some readers and small children may find disturbing -PLEASE CONTINUE WITH CAUTION ! Yep, that's right this post contains photographs of Scottish Crossbills (and some flash photography) ! "The horror, the horror" to quote Marlon Brando's Colonel Kurt.

These pics are from a relatively sucessful ringing session on Sunday with a couple of GRG colleagues - themselves both notable crossbill experts of some quite considerable repute (they may be reading !).

Seven birds caught in total which, to seasoned 'normal' ringers ( is there such a thing ? !), may not seem worthwhile but actually could not be further from the truth.

First bird caught, a cracking adult male with a honker of bill, almost putting it out of Scottish type range:

"Oooosha, look at the bill on that!"

As well as biometrics, speciation was also confirmed by it's call type, a classic Fc3 ( not shown as I know people have been pinching and using my sonograms - go get your own !).

Unusual bird of the day went to this female bird:

Body plumage shot here (note orangey tones):

And a shot of the rump (normally green/bright green !):

So, an orangey/bronze female type which was classified as female due to dark centres to crown feathers. A new one for me anyway, so glad I went. Nothing is straightforward as far as crossbills are concerned ! For me that is the part of their appeal.

Another male with 'classic' Scottish Crossbill mandibles:

Note the pine resin on the mandibles of all the birds who are clearly still feeding on unopened scots pine cones.

All release calls were consistent with Scottish Crossbill (as were bios) though one female bird was mute ( which happens and is annoying). Had to use my ME67 and FR2LE partly due to portability and partly due to the fact my Pro6 handle has been back in Sweden since early August but this backup setup seems to work really well in this context, although some of the harmonics are fainter without the Telinga.

Hopefully many more successful sessions over the winter !

Where The Heck Ya Been ?

2008-09-17T23:35:00.003+01:00

Okay, okay I AM feeling guilty that at least 6 people a day are visting this site only to think "that lazy crossbill loving tosser can't be doing much these days". Well that couldn't be further from the truth though I am back and will try to post some interesting stuff as it happens. Will also post some retrospective stuff especially from my summer holidays at Glen Affric which was fabby dabby - not only were the dragonflies in abundance but also had Parrot Crossbills in upper Glen Affric and Scottish at Coire Loch and at Corrimony. Loadsa Cresties as well - a bird that we really miss in Deeside.

In relation to a recent post on Bird Forum here is a nice pic from a hide session of a 2cy Scottish Crossbill on 13/07/08:

This individual was ringed as a pullus in the nest by a GRG colleague on 31/3/07 and he was pleased of the report that it was still alive over a year later. For those that are camera geeks I am afraid the equipment was modest: Nikon D70S, Tamron 200-500mm lens. It was shot on ISO400 as the light was pretty crap and it may have been raining a bit too. Was taken at around 9 feet distance from a Keatley Standard Dome Hide. These hides are fantastic and well worth the outlay. I also use the bag hide but it is harder to sit in for long periods and is more of an 'ad hoc' option in my opinion.

Now, me and my mate would know that this is a Scottish Crossbill, even without the ringing info (though we don't measure bios on pullus), but be honest what would you have it down as and why ? Now you can see why most of those photos on Birdguides and Surfbirds that are submitted as Scottish are actually Parrots !

My Heid is Splitting !

2008-06-26T14:42:00.006+01:00

More Gollocks on Bird Forum HERE ( see in particular post #62). Now, it is not that I have a major problem with classifying Loxia scotica as a race of crossbill rather than a species. Rather, the problem is a race of what exactly - Common or Parrot, something which the poster just so happens to conveniently omit ! ? One, would assume the former but how do we know ? The fact that genetically all three are, to all intents and purposes, 'the same' offers no clues either. So, in sharing the same ancestry, which Common, Parrot and even our old friend Scottish clearly must do, when does a clinal form stop being merely a race and become a species in it's own right ? Yep, it's that old problem: it is our definition and understanding of what constitutes a 'species' that is problematic rather than the organisms themselves that just do 'what they do'. I do not profess to understand the mechanics of speciation - I have Ian Newton's fantastic book on Biogeographic Speciation but must confess I only read the Crossbill bits ( and, true to form, looked at the pictures).

There are now hints and murmurs as to splitting Winter Wrens so hopefully the troglodytes of Fair Isle and St. Kilda will deflect from the Crossbills. Who knows, maybe the bird guides from Heatherlea will run trips to these places to show clients 'species' that they themselves do not believe really are species ala what they apparently do with Scottish Crossbill - that is if they (the wrens) haven't all moved to the Lodgepole Pine plantations of Sutherland or hybridised with Hebridean Dunnocks by then (only regular reader to my rants will get this one) ! Maybe they can "work with the scientists on technology" to enable 'retrospective' identification of the vocalisations of the wrens (little hint: it exists already in the form of a microphone, recorder and a copy of Raven Lite-duh).

Scottish Common

2008-05-23T11:50:00.006+01:00

This is for Reg in relation to this thread HERE.

This bird was caught in lower Deeside in October 2007. As can be seen it has an intermediate bill, downcurved culmen and plumage that can be indicative of a pine crossbill. It gave both EcE and Fc4 on release, both classified as curvirostra.

Just to prove the point further, here is a Scottish Crossbill caught in October 2006. This has an intermediate bill that is downcurved (though not as much as the common above !) but has more orangey-red plumage ! This gave a Scottish Fc3 on release:

Hopefully this will illustrate the potential difficulty in separating these forms to species level, and even with considerable experience for some individual specimens it will be necessary to have all the evidence including biometrics and bioacoustic.

Calling All Crossbill 'Experts' !

2008-05-16T15:44:00.003+01:00

A mysterious crossbill found in Glen Doll, Angus needs your help HERE.

Only serious crossbill boffins need apply, no timewasters please.

ICRAP ( The International Crossbill Research Analysis Program ) requests that participants refrain from using non standard and unsubstantiated terminology such as "glip", "british", "phantom" etc otherwise the following loxia subgroups will also be considered:

The "Fitlikemin" - of Aberdeenshire.

The "Yehoorsir" - found in the Lomond Hill plantations of Fife.

The "Ehlleatmehpeh" - specific to the Fintry hills outside Dundee.

The "WeeFree" - only found on the Outer Hebrides in irruption years.

The "Ganzee" - present on Shetland and Fair Isle in irruption years.

The "Wherzabizees" - only found in the plantations of Merseyside.

The "Gitorfmoiland" - of Dorset and Devon.

The "Buckie" - the resident Crossbill type of SW Scotland, also recently recorded in the Manchester area.

Thank you. You have been warned.

"She Was a Fast Machine, She Kept Her Motor Clean"

2008-05-10T00:54:00.003+01:00

Okay, hands up who went up North to see the Upland Sand. Me ? DIF.....you must be joking. I couldn't be bottomed driving the 50 or so miles from my pad in Aberdeen. I will happily wait till 2102 to see the next one....as long as it lands in my back garden. It's just a bird afterall. Some people must have no job or at least no work to do ! I'd much rather have a Wryneck on one of my patches.....inland......in June. Now that would be interesting ! Or a Nightjar as happened a few years ago.

So what else makes me 'tick' other than crossbills given that I don't keep lists. Well, this year I am going to do a bit of Dragonfly surveying for the atlas. Things haven't really got going up here as of yet but reckon when I am out this weekend some Large Reds will have emerged. Also going to be targeting Golden Ringed's in Deeside as their distribution seems a bit vague. I have even got a holiday booked with the specific purpose of finding and photographing Odonata......and my real passion Mediterranean Chelonia of course.

A Golden Ringed exuvia....you wouldn't want to mess with it...obviously.

"Who's Nest and Pictures of Billy", Sunday 5th May

2008-05-06T23:16:00.006+01:00

A momentus day as I heard the first juvenile 'pine' crossbill begging calls of 2008. I didn't see them as they were in a mega 'bushy' granny pine, but the adults flew in to feed them, strangely accompanied by another female. The juvs could even have still been in the nest but I checked all the likely places for a nest and couldn't locate it, so it wasn't there. The birds had therefore probably fledged nearby and just managed to fly to this particular tree. The adults gave EcD Parrot type calls which I recorded just to prove that they actually were what I already knew they were.

On Monday my bestest half had juvenile crossbill calls at a site in mid Deeside. Though she had the Remembird with her she was too busy looking at and for insects to record them apparently. Duh ! Yep, it is possible to tell the juvvy calls apart to species level...................those of you still struggling to tell the adults apart probably didn't need to hear that ! :-)

Speaking of nests what a crazy year. I have found more nests than ever, and without even trying - it's actually getting embarrassing. However, the really bad weather in April has resulted in a high failure rate-well more than 'usual' 50%. This is to be expected in the odd year, though it will be interesting to see if any try again or have second broods this year like they did last year.

Nest Diary "Death In The Pines : A Typical Scenerio"

This nest was found as the female had just started building with literally 3 twigs on 9th March (if you look close you can see her peeking at you):

"Here's looking at you kid, celebrate......"

The following week on the 16th the nest was finished and eggs laid sometime later that week. On the 23rd March the female was sitting tight through driving snow storms. I was a bit worried as the male was feeding her only every 90 -120 minutes which is not great (for her). In wet weather the cones close making foraging times longer. This pair had intermediate bill depths (est. around 12.0mm) and both birds were practically identical in this respect. Both gave the same calls and I got the male singing on two occasions so some good stuff re-assortative mating and song to call correlations.

By the 4th of April the chicks had hatched and the male was singing above the tree, and both male and female flew off to feed. The next day an area of low pressure moved in with wet and windy weather and the chicks persished. Total bummer. All that effort from the dedicated female to no avail.

Today, I found yet another crossbill nest (the 23rd this year), the female sitting and the male coming in regularly to feed her. I recorded a male singing in this very tree two weeks ago but there was no nest then. More will be found no doubt.

Simply The Best !

2008-05-03T00:06:00.003+01:00

Especially for all the Aberdeen fans I 'coexist' with up here in NE Scotland , here it is all over again just for you. Git it right up yiz !

Now, just to find £1500 to get a ticket......

"Do You Remembird When We Met" ?

2008-03-25T13:15:00.010Z

This might be of interest to potential budget sound recordists, a quick appraisal of the Remembird Sound Recorder. My review will generally appraise it's suitability for what I do, namely crossbills, for a more comprehensive review see THIS one at the WSRS pages.

I primarily bought mine after hearing a recording of some crossbills from a Dutch poster on Bird Forum. The idea was that I would attach it to my bins on days when I didn't fancy lugging heavier sound recorders and more obtrusive microphones. In practice it is the missus who now 'owns' it, which is fine by me as I now get recordings from her day trips when I am working !

ADVANTAGES

The main advantage is that the unit is small and 'covert'. A pet hate of mine when I am out is constantly being asked "what are you tracking" ? My answers have ranged from radio tagged Brown Bears that have been re-introduced through to measuring the timing of pine cones opening by listening for them 'crack'. It may seem a bit mean, but it really does wear you down when you are repeatedly asked the same question over and over by people who are not really interested but rather who's 'noses are bothering them'. Thankfully, this is only bad at a couple of locations and even then only when I am on the paths. I should add that I always give people a "hello" or "nice day", I just don't want to give my life story.

Another thing that is quite impressive is the software interface, which is well designed and written and allows one to catalogue all the recordings and even add comments.

Attaching to bins it works best on my EL 8.5's - the unit sits unobtrusively between the barrels and does not impede the thumb rests. Not so good on my 10 x 42 Ultravids though. The wife prefers to use the little carry strap.

Perhaps the biggest advantage is the cost. Mine was £199 which I considered good value given the product, well produced software and the quality. They are now £150 direct from the manufacturer which has to be a great incentive for the first time recordist ?

DISADVANTAGES

You really need to be close to the subject, even in good conditions. How close ? Well in the tree right above you or next to you would be good. As the WSRS review states wind is problematic, but then what do you expect for the money ?

I found a potential problem with using external MMC cards with my first unit. At the highest quality setting of 320 kps a pulsing noise was evident ( sounded like a helicopter). The owner of Remembird relplied to my email enquiry immediately and sent a replacement unit - great customer service. The replacement unit was better but the anomaly was still present albeit to a lesser degree when using 512 and 1 gig MMC cards. If the cards are not used and the 32 meg internal storage is used the anomaly is not audible though a trace of an artifact can sometimes be seen around 11 kHz on a sonogram. On best quality you will get approx 12 minutes recording on the 32 meg internal memory, more than enough for calls though possibly not song in a typical day trip. My suggestion if you think you need more storage is to contact Remembird and ask what MMC cards they recommend and record on the second highest setting as per the WSRS reviewer.

The exported audio (MP3) files from the program are very quiet but this can be remedied by gain boosting in a third party audio program. I use MP3 Directcut as recommended by the WSRS review, and generally boost by around 15dB to get satisfactory levels.

OK ENOUGH BABBLE, IS IT ANY GOOD ?

Well, yes, for the dosh it is actually pretty good. Here are a couple of sonograms from recordings that my missus made with it:

And the flight calls from the same group:

As can be seen both calls are clearly identifiable in the sonograms ( in this case EcB and Fc1, so a 1B type ). For those who prefer to listen HERE is the Ec's exported as MP3's and gain boosted by +22 dB's. These were made in good conditions and you can still here a bit of wind rumble.

So, in a nutshell if it can be used for Crossbills then should be no bother nailing that Ibe or Sibe Chiff, if you are close enough !

In the spirit of blogs being interactive (apparently!) a bonus point for music buffs that can connect the post title to Led Zeppelin..............it's a toughie.

More Crossbills ? Get Stuffed !

2008-03-21T13:51:00.005Z

At the risk of being accused of following the bizzare trend of exhibiting various dead things as seen on other blogs here is a 'curiousity' :

Found this on a random Taxidermy site whilst googling 'Scottish Crossbill'. Not sure if they are scotica, but a very realistic 'composition'. Personally, I prefer to see them flying around, but I suppose in the 19th century and early 20th this sort of 'collecting' was the norm.

There is a similar 'study' of a bird shot near Aboyne in the 1800's that is a good candidate for scotica. I will see if I can find it. ( UPDATE: I am struggling to find it again )

Meantime, here is an interesting specimen shot at Drumnadrochit ( great name):

In the absence of biometrics it is difficult to say what he is, but I could easily accept 'Parrot' type based on birds I have seen and handled. However, it could be a small bodied bird with an apparently big bill, so a tough one. Will try to find the details on this one too.

UPDATE. Here are the details:

Adult male, 2nd winter male, adult female & 1st winter female, 6 Dec 1925 (two), 6 Dec 1924 & 6 Dec 1925, Drumnadrochit (57°20'N, 04°30'W), Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom.

So 4 birds shot in total. The location is not typical 'parrot' but given the month of the year they were shot it is possible that they were migrants, however over two successive years hints at a population. Possibly Scottish afterall.

Told you ( in a now hacker deleted previous post) that Boleskine House would have mad a fantastic base for crossbilling !

NOT BOS3

2008-03-20T13:35:00.003Z

A couple of pics that unfortunately didn't make it in to BOS3, instead mainly putative examples being used ( the main pic of the 'Parrot' Crossbill in Vol.2 p.1433 is particularly dubious, and it seems I am not alone in this assertion). Could even be a Common Crossbill ! Here's a real Parrot:

And Again:

The above bird was caught, ringed, measured and sound recorded as a Parrot Crossbill and then photographed 'wild' six months later. It is not a 'possible' or 'probable'. The bird in the "Pinemuncher" Avatar to the side is the same individual. Digiscoped incase you need to know. Maybe not a great a photo, but then there were other not great photo's in BOS3.

Also, does anyone see the point of the nine crossbill profiles in the hand (p.1435), given the specimens chosen ? Is it just me or is that token ? Does it show, as claimed, "variation of bill shapes and sizes through the three species" ? I think not. They certainly don't demonstrate the variation of these charateristics within the species. The first 'Scottish' in line two looks Common and the bill is not typical of scotica. If that was the point of putting it in then fair enough. The furthest right bird in line two doesn't have the lower mandible tip showing ( the only one !) and is thus unhelpful. I feel it would have been more helpful to show a range of Scottish bill sizes, which seems to occur, rather than pick three birds close to the overlap with Common Crossbill. What the nine pics show is that Scottish Crossbill can have the most variation in bill shape at a similar size. Is this the case ? How do we know a bird at 11.0mm is actually a Scottish Crossbill ? On bill shape, plumage, where it was caught, its call (not done I am afraid) ?

From the Commons are we to take it that over their typical size range given as 9.5mm, 10.0mm and 10.6mm that their bill shape is pretty much the same ? This is not my experience, but again I don't know what these photos are meant to be showing.

The three Parrots all look identical and two are the exact same size ! There was an opportunity to show the structural differences with this species that was not taken, essentially 'Parrot' type birds at just over 12.0 ish mm which occur readily in Scotland. I would also add that only sound recordings were made for the furthest left and right Parrots - none at all for the Scottish and Commons. I supplied birds with biometric data and call data (like the one for my only photo - there were originally 4 or 5 of my pics ! ). This was all stated in communications from me but clearly fell on deaf ears as I have apparently only been working on crossbills for 5 minutes. Actually, it's been 5 years CONSTANT, but never mind I will bear it in mind the next time I am asked 'to help'. I don't really see the point of confusing birders further, especially when alternatives were available. I should add that it was not the authors choice either AFAIK.

Had to get it off my chest - the amount of work I did for it (during my holiday) and the resulting decisions and attitudes of certain individuals really surprised me to be frank. I don't really care that my pics were passed over, just a shame that the job, IMO, could have been done much better and been potentially more helpful to birders. Way too many politics going on regarding crossbills if you ask me........... never !

And if those 'that be' so to speak are offended and don't like what I am saying there is an old saying: "publish and be damned". I guess you've just been damned, by me at least. I bought my copy of BOS3 and I am entitled to my opinion just like anyone else. On the whole it is an absolutely fantastic publication.

Right, stuff these crossbills, off to study Chelonia and become yet another 5 minute amatuer.

Memoirs, Moi ? Shurely Not Mish Monneypenny..

2008-03-19T02:30:00.007Z

I don't know what is more staggering - that someone would be interested in my (abridged) memoirs, my 'eternal life' if you like, or that someone would read this blog ! That said there are a lotta wanabee crossbill 'experts' out there.... dream brothers, of a time when we know what the hell we are talking about.

As to my six word memoir, with total lack of grace, hows about:

"Don't Waste Time Playing Meaningless Games " ! ( alas, something in life I have failed to observe and often fallen foul of......PhD anyone ?)

or, perhaps more appropriately:

"Don't Study Crossbills They Are *****"

or, even more appropriately:

"People who study Crossbills are *****"

As to 5 other Bloggers, 'fraid I don't know that amount, the 'unpopular' chap that I am. I ain't got no mojo pin with folks I am afraid.

Anyway, back to all things Crossbills....and not.

It may come as a shock to readers that my crossbill work is now nearly tied up and that soon I will be embarking on a long term desk based study on the classification of Mediterranean Chelonia, something far closer to my heart, but equally challenging all the same. However, don't worry I can assure you this won't be the last goodbye.

As David Coverdale used to say " 'ere's a song for yuh" just before "Wine, Women and Song", the wine of course being lialic wine:

I am not going to give the corresponding Ec of this individual as, well frankly, it will quite possibly scare small children and anyone with an interest in crossbills and their calls..... er that's about 6 people then. These, along with other scandals, will be published in the real memoirs. And believe me they will be so real -lover you should have come over ( you know who you are).

Topically, being nearly Good Friday and having just watched "The Passion", I feel curiously moved ( for an atheist) and feel myself humming Benjamin Britten's haunting setting of Corpus Christi Carol. Oh, well.

One final thought: that Jeff Buckley fellow was pretty good wasn't he ? Meaningless games -who said I didn't like them ?

Hallelujah.

Blogger On Strike ?

2008-02-20T12:16:00.004Z

Ok, so I haven't been keeping the blog up to date. Well, it seems I am not the only one ok ? !

The principle reason is that I am really, really busy just now - I am out doing loads of fieldwork and quite a bit of ringing and it is taking a lot of time to 'process' sound recordings and log field notes (which is always best to do right after a site visit). I sleep the rest of the time that I am not working eg. earning a living. These sort of things really make me wish I was a 'desk ornithologist' after all..................well then again, maybe not !

As far as crossbills go I am afraid it is that time of the year that if I tell you anything I will have to kill you, or get that little Geordie fella Daniel Craig to do it for me. However, lots of good stuff recently including definitive evidence of crossbill monogomy, Scottish excitement calls recorded twice in one day (!) and some more potentially worrying evidence of uncoupling in association between Ec's and Fc's. Crossbills, don't you just love 'em ?

Another good bit of dogged and determined stubborn fieldwork on Sunday produced a song from a male that I recorded singing pretty much a year ago to the day over his nest. I haven't compared the sonograms yet but it will be interesting when I do ( he is colour ringed BTW). This is exactly the stuff I have been after - just need more of it now.

I also had crippling views of a Capercaillie ( female unfortnately) last Monday, only 30 yards away gritting on a forest trail at a very popular pinewood in a section very popular with walkers ! She just ignored me initially then got a bit nervous of a six foot potential predator holding a parabola and flew of. Stonking bird, and the closest I have been to one - normally I just see them crashing out of trees heading the other way or across my path. When I say 'normally', seeing Capers is not a normal occurence even for someone like me spending a lot of time in the pinewoods. Shame, really.

Nearly got to the bottom of the "WTF are these masts doing to my Telinga ?" thing but that is going in as a proper article on my new website which will be launched soon. Klas is working on a possible solution (a new Telinga handle !) now that we know what the problem is, and it is a problem......if in doubt, as always, blame the government and the police - all will become clear ( it really is their fault) ! The Telinga is IMHO still the best portable, quality and affordable system around.

More to come.

Hasta la vista...........or should that be "Do we get to win this time" in respect of action heros that are currently in vogue ? (yeah, yeah, I promise to keep taking my tablets)

"Pieces of Eight" or ,"I say Species you say Faeces"

2008-01-17T23:32:00.000Z

Wow ! As regular readers will know I am well versed in the martial art of defending the Scotbill cause on Bird Forum. However, things have taken an interesting twist in THIS thread where I am actually defending Parrot Crossbill as a species ! Really. Apparently all crossbills are 'one species' cos someone in a lab coat once shook a couple of test tubes about and someone else then came to this conclusion ! I have my own thoughts on this DNA research which I am not going in to here.

The sad thing is a couple of individuals have posted some well constructed thought provoking material, whilst another particular individual is being deliberately antagonistic and just spouting out a complete pile of crap. Great things blogs - I can write that eg. what I like, without a moderator shouting "naughty, naughty" ! However, being the 'vet' that I am with several 'tours of duty' under my belt I know not to rise and take 'the bait'.

I will continue to combat the whimsical ramblings and psycho babble of spectacled desk based 'ornithologists' with 'facts' and 'evidence' gained from 'experience' in the field.........or maybe I should just go and study Dippers ( or read a book on Crossbills) ?

Dutch Parrot Fest

2008-01-16T00:01:00.000Z

Anyone reading either Birding World or Birdwatch over the last couple of months may be aware of the recent influx of Parrot Crossbills into Holland and Germany in late Autumn 2007. This has produced quite a lot of interest in the form of photographs and sound recordings - the Dutch really are much more switched on than us Brits in this respect. Shame there has not been too much about the German Parrots (?).

Rather than the usual banal 'You Tubings' of random music trivia here is a small collection of video's of the Dutch Parrots.

Some great pics out there on the web too but I don't want to upset the photographers by posting them on here. With all those thirsty crossbills I hope someone is catching and ringing them ? ! Notable also that many of the birds are in their first winter.

It's Official: Scottish Crossbill Is Doomed !

2008-01-15T23:15:00.000Z

More Scottish Crossbill nonsense courtesy of bad PR can be viewed on THIS Birdforum thread.

And, just to see how hard it can be to find Scottish Crossbills these days see THIS Blog entry - a two man quest to find Scotbill in July 2007. The Scotbills were apparently so elusive that what they actually saw were in my opinion 'Parrot' Crossbills ! ( Sorry Rainer but reckon you might have to 'untick' that one ! ). To go to all that bother it might have been an idea to get a sound recording or two ? Scottish is much more confusable with Common - the birds in those photo's look bugger all like Common Crossbills.

For those who want to see a real Scottish Crossbill, here is one I prepared earlier, photographed near to its nest in March 2006 and emitting excitement call C:

And another, a 1cy from Winter 2005:

Notice the slight 'bulge' in the lower mandible - not just Parrots that have them ( or sometimes not as the case may be).

Glen Esk, Tuesday 8th January

2008-01-14T21:59:00.000Z

Spent a morning ringing in upper Glen Esk with on of the TRG guys ( cheers Dave !). The catch comprised mainly of Chaffinches though we also caught the usual titmice and a couple of Goldfinches and one Siskin. Total of 70 birds which insn't bad for a morning.

Juv chaffinches can be tricky (for a trainee) to age if they have replaced all of their greater coverts with adult feathers so it was really good practice for me ( and I got them all right !) - only three juv birds had at least one old greater covert. Key points to look for were 'dodgy' tertials, though some adult birds (Euring 6) had really 'punk' washed out tertials, and some of the 5's were replacing their tertials with adult feathers. Tails are also good for Chaffinches (as per Svensson) but funny things happen with tails also - a young bird may have replaced all, or some of its tail with adult feathers, or simply shat all over its tail in a bird bag making diagnosis (of shape) difficult ! A good tip for any trainees reading this is to look for any contrast between the greater coverts, tertials and primary coverts as your trainer has told you. A Euring 5 ( or bird hatched in 2007) will not normally replace its primary coverts until Summer 2008 so these feathers should be a different generation and will be worn on the tips and more pointy ( adult PCs are generally broad). The primaries themselves will look paler and have more wear. However, with Chaffinches watch out as adult male PC's naturally do not appear to be as 'glossy' black as the secondaries or primaries, and with females the difference can be subtle - I find with both it helps to 'close' the wing then look for any contrast, if there is none it is an adult.

I would encourage all serious birders to attend a ringing session. I have learned so much about plumage, moult, ageing ( and sexing). Can you sex a Goldfinch through your bins or scope ? What I have described about the wing feathers above is often possible to see from some photographs. For example, most of the recent photographs of the recent 'Dutch' Parrot Crossbills on the web are of 2cy birds Euring 5 eg. hatched 2007. Can you see why ? If not then consider doing some ringing or at least get a copy of Svennson - I am told all serious birders already have it ! ?

A ringer doing his thing and er.....looking at feathers on this Greenfinch.

Fraserburgh, Monday 7th January

2008-01-14T21:30:00.000Z

A pretty gash day for crossbills due to high wind speed so thought a jolly up to the Broch was in order to see if I could spot a 'white-winged' gull. Several had been reported at The Blue Toon, however, I couldn't be arsed going cross eyed at a thousand or so gulls flying around my head and trying to pick out a Glauc or an Iceland. Have always found the Broch to be an aesthetically better place for a stroll looking for such gulls -usually they are either sitting on the water or on the quay side. Maybe that's just me ?

Took a detour of the Ugie - Bonapartes indeed -paah !

Well, the Broch turned out to be a pile of crap re-the gulls and was reflected by the fact that I was more interested in watching a Grey Seal trying to catch and eat Black-headed gulls that were sitting on the water. There were 8 seals in the inner harbour, the most I have seen. A single Goldeneye and R.B Merganser in the harbour were barely mentionable.

On a nostalgic note I saw this fine example of a vessel leave the harbour:

This is former Fisheries Research Vessel (F.R.V) "Clupea" and used to belong to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland with whom I was a Scientific Officer in a previous life. In fact I did my first 'sea trip' on "Clupea" in March 1986 in the Clyde at Ballantrae Bank, monitoring and 'sampling' a spring spawning ground for Herring ( 'Clupea harrengus' is the scientific name for Herring, or certianly used to be - maybe it's been split since then !). Most Herring spawn in the Autumn in the North Sea ( so it probably is a different type or subspecies).

As part of that trip we spent a lot of time tied up at various ports in the Clyde (and the Crianlarich Ferry Quay), the worst of which by far was Campbelltown on the Mull of Kintyre. I vowed then if I never saw Campbelltown again I would be a happy man. I have never been back. When Paul McCartney wrote his famous ode "Mull of Kintyre" it is clear to me he had never been to Campbelltown. If any readers from Campbelltown are reading this and are offended - get over it ! Your town is shit.

Most surreal memory from that trip was watching a Gannet dive bomb a Herring lying on the aft deck of the ship. The bird clunked into the metal deck at great speed, and dazed like a punch drunk boxer, shook it's head, picked up the herring and flew off !

Have got many great anecdotes from my days as a fledgling marine biologist but they will have to wait for my memoirs I am afraid - some of the people are still alive.

I promise, no more gulls from now on, only real birds like Crossbills. To paraphrase The Oddie "aren't Gulls Crap" !

6th January Lower Deeside ( near Banchory)

2008-01-14T21:14:00.001Z

Spent the afternoon at one of my study sites that I historically visit on either Christmas Eve or Hogmany every year. I didn't this year and was feeling a bit guilty. Quite a good little site with all the main conifer species so a chance of getting a variety of types at various times of the year. So I shunned the multitude of Pine Crossbills I would undoubtedly have seen and instead got all 'Common'.

A total of 30 contacts and maxima of 11 birds. All birds were what I call 1B types - you Sound Approachers call 'em what you like but my New Year's resolution is to never use 'such' terms again ( no offence SA guys !). You see, for me there was (crossbill call) life before the Sound Approach book came out: however, it is nevertheless a very good book. These crossbills had been feeding in Larch and at dusk I spotted three still feeding frantically and flitting from tree to tree.

Larch - 9 out of 10 Crossbills prefer it you know ? Apparently.

" Fit's bin gai'n o'wn "*

2008-01-05T21:52:00.000Z

Happy New Year to all Loxia Fanatics (all two of you).

Not been doing much crossbilling for a variety of reasons, mainly cos the weather has been so crap - high winds and very wet, both not good for recording crossbills even if you can find them. Must have only about a dozen or so decent recordings for December.

I have been doing a bit more ringing ( of non crossbill passerines) in an effort to (finally) get this C permit once and for all. Hopefully, not long to wait now ( hint to my trainer who might be reading this ! ).

Did have 21 Crossbills at a well known local pinewood site last Sunday (30th) and got a freaky excitement call that tested me - it sounded like one type but 'looked' like another. In these instances I go with my ears. Also got an EcC Scottish tooping at the same time and it was interesting to actually hear the differences - see what I mean about using your ears. Flight calls included 2 Fc2's, 1 Fc4 with the remainder of Fc's being what I would class as typical 'pine crossbills'.

An interesting thread on exercising caution in interpreting crossbill sonograms is here on Bird Forum. My advice to wanabee crossbill call experts is to use your ears as much as your eyes - reading sonograms correctly is far more of an art form than an exact science. Many potential errors can be averted by simply listening to your recordings and comparing to library known 'specimen' calls. Okay, I know what you are thinking " fine for you with your finely tuned musicians ears". Well, maybe it helps but it does not substitute for experience in the field - this knowledge and skill has to be earned as much as learned. Humor me with this parable -Two female singers sing the same song, lets say the Theme from the Titanic "My Heart Will Go On" (or something!). One is Kylie Minogue the other is Grace Jones. Okay, could you tell both singers apart ? Maybe even recognise them 'blind' ? You would at least be able to describe a difference even if you hadn't heard either vocalist before. Well, if the answer is "yes" then you should also be able to hear the difference between a Scottish and a Parrot toop and flight call, the difference between a Fc1 and a Fc2 and even the difference between a 'scarce' type and a '1B' type toop. The reason for this is that in telling the difference between Grace and Kylie you are determining the tonal quality and timbre of each singers voice, in essence their 'jizz' in sound ( please don't google "jizz" and "Kylie" in the same search.....I know someone will now !). One has a higher voice the other a sultry lower voice, possibly mezzo sporano versus alto. That explains pitch but within this each singer will be producing different overtones or harmonics that enrichen their tone, or timbre. For more practice watch the new show on tribute acts on BBC1 on Saturdays - did the tribute Rod Stewart sound like the real Rod Stewart ( I didn't think so ! ).

In terms of refining this 'model' it is the same with the classical afficionado being able to recognize the differences between Beethoven and Mozart, whereas to many unfamiliar listeners they may sound the same. Each composer has different stylistic characteristics, or 'habits', that are made up of many things including form, harmony, melody and rhythm ( as well as orchestration). Well crossbill calls also have form ( to a degree) and certainly have meter.

These are all things that can be determined by the best recording hardware you can ever hope to own: your ears and brain. Sonograms merely provide us with a photographic 'snapshots' of sound events and allow us to classify and order them based on their differences and similarities. They also allow scientists to quantify and verify (or have verified) their data sets.

Philosophy lecture over. Where else can you have crossbills, Kylie and the Theme from the Titanic ? Promise some nice recordings and maybe piccies from tommorrows crossbill hunt. Hopefully an eagle or two as well......meantime go use those ears !

*Doric translation: "What has been happening"

Come Home

2007-12-27T18:14:00.000Z

A nice tune for everyone to mellow out to - " Come Home" by Findlay Brown. Think Neil Young crossed with Simon and Garfunkel with a sprinkling of Jimmy Page Pedal Steel geetar ( ala "Tangerine").

Some of you may recognize it as the music in the Mastercard advert. Would be nice if this tune played everytime you opened your Mastercard statement eh ! ?

Injured Crossbill, Glen Isla

2007-12-26T15:14:00.000Z

This is especially for John who posted below regarding a crossbill with an injured wing found at Glen Isla on Christmas day.

The best bet would be to contact the local SSPCA officer - phone 01224 581236.

I am not willing to give out my personal email on the web for obvious reasons, but you can private post me your email via Bird Forum and I will get back to you. I am 'Griffin' on Bird Forum. I can phone you instead if you wish.

We have a really good vet up here at Huntly, Lawrence Brain, who takes in injured birds - I gave the SSPCA an exhausted Fieldfare a few years ago and they passed it on to Mr. Brain where it made a full recovery and was released.

Regarding the Crossbill, is the wing broken ( drooping by side) or is it just strained (can't take off) ? I can possibly get it to someone who rears crossbills ( under DEFRA licence) via a colleague but I would have to come and collect it, or you would have to bring it to me in Aberdeen. They are notoriously difficult to feed in captivity from what I understand, and it will need fluids ASAP. Best bet is local vet in the short term just to keep it alive. Make sure you at least make water available to the bird ( in a saucer/very small container like that for pakora sauce) and you could try sunflower seeds, but I doubt it will eat them.

Would have to examine it to tell you what species - unlikely to be Parrot, but possible ! A Deeside ringed Common Crossbill recently turned up at Lintrathen so please check to see if it is either metal ringed (probably right leg) and /or colour ringed (both legs).

Good luck !