Shiver Me Timbers

January, as it so often does, sees Winter tighten it's grip on the landscape as temperatures plummet.

Thursday saw 20+ cm of snow fall overnight, followed by a temperature drop to -11°C with a forecast -20 on the horizon.

Mid-week I managed to nip out for a bit more year ticking, nabbing Black Bellied Dipper at the usual local spot.

He was a bit on the skulky side, but will likely be there for the whole winter. 

On Saturday I headed into the city. A Parrot Crossbill had been frequenting the seafront and was overdue a visit.

This area has a great track record for the more unusual crossers overwintering, probably due to the fact that, with just 5 pines and a few larch trees present, it makes it a little easier to find them than in the vast forrests of the countryside. 

This cracking female Two Barred was a handy number a couple of years back.

I showed up at Cafe Carusel and the bird was present and handy with two female common Crossbill. 

It really is that easy sometimes. A hot cup of coffee and a cinnamon bun made it very easy birding. 

That cruncher of a bill.

Polly wanna cracker.

Parrots are fairly common. Not in the same numbers as Common, but still not necessarily difficult to encounter, especially if you can tune into the calls. However those encounters are often little flyover groups, or birds right at the tops of massive pines in dense Forrest. At Eira the pines and larches are small, and the birds accustomed to human traffic.

Monstrous

The female common crossbills weren't bad either.

Just up the road, a group of Twite, another good Winter scarcity, were giving good views just a skip up the coast. 

I then returned home, bagging a Juv Golden Eagle as a full tick for the garden list, and adding common buzzard for the winter list.

On Sunday I nipped back down for third helpings of the Shore Larks, in every sense of the word third, as a few days after I found the two they were joined by a third individual. 

They showed pretty well, on a different field than normal, and were a bit flighty.

That was likely down to the presence of both a hunting Great Grey Shrike and a male Rough Legged Buzzard.

Always crisp, slick birds.

Male Rough Legged Buzzard - wary and not helpful.

What a landscape.

I then nipped down to Kopparnas to check the feeders. 

Love Willow Tits. Their call really is incredible, nothing quite like it in Ireland. 

Another Dipper was present on the small stream north of Kopparnas.

Finished off the day back home with a walk on the lake. 

Beautiful