Christine's walking & birds blog

I drove to the Lookout hoping for my first crossbills of the year as there have been recent reports of some in the forest. Agreeing to answer a survey in the car park, I learnt with a sinking heart that we'll almost certainly soon be charged to park here.

I'd decided not to go looking specially for the crossbills but just to follow my usual route and hope some turned up; however, a diversion was made right at the beginning to bag the trig point on Gravel Hill.

I spent some time on the "bridge" by the stream, photographing three or four siskins in the dead tree. (All pics trashed!) Tearing myself away at last I turned onto the track across the heather and glanced casually to the right for a last look at the tree. I couldn't believe my eyes. Instead of the slender little siskins I saw five decidedly chunky birds which could only be crossbills. Where did they come from?!

I was too tired to visit the high Surrey heathlands and Caesar's Camp, and returning to the Lookout via Lower Star Post I fell in with more crossbills; first one or two opposite the military fence and then a larger flock. Along with siskins and redpolls they were favouring conifers around the big diggings just to the south-west of LSP; they were right next to the path but I kept my distance as pine cones, detached by their feeding, were falling to the ground with quite impressive thuds.