Crossbill
Crossbills usually prise open pine cones in situ to extract the nutritious seeds inside and will often hang acrobatically to achieve this. But sometimes they use their bills like secateurs to snip off the cone and carry it somewhere more convenient for extracting the seeds. This female Crossbill was caught in the act of doing just that, and you can even see the cut stump where she has just taken it from. Crossbills are often common in the Peak District woodlands but their numbers fluctuate massively and this winter I have only seen one or two. I took this photograph in local woodlands back in March when there were dozens around. They specialise in eating conifer seeds, and even feed their young on a porridge of regurgitated seeds when most finches switch to an insect diet.
Crossbill
Crossbills usually prise open pine cones in situ to extract the nutritious seeds inside and will often hang acrobatically to achieve this. But sometimes they use their bills like secateurs to snip off the cone and carry it somewhere more convenient for extracting the seeds. This female Crossbill was caught in the act of doing just that, and you can even see the cut stump where she has just taken it from. Crossbills are often common in the Peak District woodlands but their numbers fluctuate massively and this winter I have only seen one or two. I took this photograph in local woodlands back in March when there were dozens around. They specialise in eating conifer seeds, and even feed their young on a porridge of regurgitated seeds when most finches switch to an insect diet.