What Crossbills!

Hempsted Forest - 0900-1300hrs - Accompanied the Joker and Marshman to the pines this morning on what was our third visit for another crack at the crossbills. Never before in recent memory have I spent four hours seeing so little; still, at least the weather was glorious once the mist had lifted. Todays stake out was the woodland equivalent of a winter seawatch at Dunge in a raging north-westerly, although we did eventually note four distant Crossbills and a single hurtling overhead calling wildly. Anyhow, the Bard of Burrowes turned up and we thought, that`s it then, bring on the crossbills, particularly as he quipped that the Two-barred should appear between 1230-1300hrs! It didn`t of course, but never mind the time passed quickly enough as the jokes, gossip and general mickey-taking ensued; apparently Birding World is packing up after the current issue, a sign of the digital age I guess...