A pair of Common Crossbills came by the garden last week, just this once, as far as we know. We are hoping that these beautiful tame birds come to stay. They eat sunflower seeds from the seed feeders.
The Common Crossbills come and visit every once in a while but more often we see them fly over without coming by.
This Common Crossbill pair was here in the beginning of summer with three chicks. They are in the garden again, now with two other chicks. Early in the morning they come to eat the sunflower seeds that we put out for our feathered friends. These former vagrants have in the past six to seven years made Iceland their home.
Today we had six Common Crossbills or Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) in the garden, both males and females. In the last year they have become regular guests here in our garden.
These colorurful birds always attract our attention when they turn up. The photoes were taken yesterday, March 12.
Despite the cold and the snow the Common Crossbill has started wooing. In South Iceland they start breeding in February and the chicks hatch in March.
The Common Crossbills are nothing less than spectacular when they sit in the top of a spruce or pine tree . Their colours match beautifully with the green of the treees, the snow and the blue sky.
The photo of this pair was taken February 2, in Grímsnes, South Iceland.