COVER STORY: BRITISH BIRDS
EXPERIENCED breeders Chris and Neville Jones report that – with the exception of the two-bar, which is a little more challenging – the crossbill species are free and easy breeders. Crossbills often come into breeding condition early in the year, around the middle of February, and indeed fanciers report eggs being laid and chicks reared in both January and February.
Chris, Neville and Francis Brankin all have their own preferences when it comes to nests and nest sites and this shows how flexible crossbills can be. Chris gives his birds a nest-pan which he covers with artificial Christmas trees. He says: “I use a nest felt for thethey are supplied with coconut fibre and also use the pine needles off their branches as nesting material.” He is quite inventive with his birds and has found that normal kitchen sieves work very well as nest-pans!
