Parrot Crossbill

Its been about 30 years since I saw a flock of Parrot Crossbill so the chance of seeing some in Shetland was very attractive.

About a dozen Parrot Crossbills had turned up and had formed 4 parties spread north to south.
In Lerwick two small parties fairly close together had attracted a number of birders.

For photography they couldn't have arrived at a worse time with 5 days of gales and heavy rain. I caught up with a party at Sound in Lerwick, well two of them

The first visit produced none so I went down to Helendale where the others had been seen. Other than a Hawfinch on the road no Crossbills showed.

Arriving back at Sound around 10 birders had gathered, a large number for Shetland. One instantly showed but the light was bad and the rain and wind made it difficult for photography

I moved round the far side to a sheltered spot and lucky enough both Crossbills came low down in the conifer and started to feed on cones which they had snipped off higher up.

Eventually they came onto the grass and started to move closer to give us all superb views. They were totally unconcerned with all the lenses pointed at them. The rain came and went but the wind was still very strong.

Parrot Crossbill are big birds, the beak structure and call the best way to identify them. They are an irruptive bird arriving from Northern Europe and Western Russia. A small population can also be found at Abernethy Forest in Speyside

Adult males tend to be Red/ orange and one of the birds was an adult the other a juvenile bird.

Other notable birds in Shetland include a few Rustic Bunting, Red flanked Blue tail, Bluethroat, Siberian Rubythroat and an American Buff Bellied Pipit . A number of the birders have or are due to leave Shetland so it should get quieter , but this could also lead to less records being received