Santon Warren - Parrot Crossbill

This is the Brecks and it's a great place for a birding day, well half-a-day as it happened.

This Common Buzzard was spending a lazy Sunday morning around the woodland at Santon Warren.

It took a while to pin down the Parrot Crossbill but around a dozen were showing high up in the conifers north-west of the railway crossing.  They looked conspicuously bull-necked, and that bill could cause some serious damage.  There were a few Common Crossbill here too.

The woodland also held Siskin, and Redwing while a Kingfisher dashed along the river.

Moving onto Lynford Arboretum, the place was alive with birds.  Best were three Hawfinch seen high up in the canopy in the gardens of Lynford Hall.  The trees along the river were particularly fruitful, titmice and finches were gorging on the alders with Siskin plentiful, and a few Lesser Redpoll.  A Kingfisher was seen here too.

It was great standing by the feeders, watching five species of Titmice voraciously snaffle up the seeds that had been stocked up.  The Marsh Tit here were great to see.

In addition, Nuthatch and Treecreeper were present, species I hardly see often these days, and large groups of Redwing were feeding in the gardens of Lynford Hall.