Succesvol broedgeval van paartje jonge Kruisbekken Loxia curvirostra in augustus 1996

From July 1996 onwards, an influx of Crossbills was noted in the Forestry of Dwingeloo, province of Drenthe (52°49’N, 6°22’E). Small flocks were foraging on cones in Japanese larch, which held 60-120 seeds/cone in 1996. An occupied nest was found on 15 August, built on a sidebranch (2.5 m away from the trunk) at a height of 17 m in a larch. It was clearly visible from the ground. Both sexes were in juvenile plumage. The male was still completely unmoulted with fully streaked underparts. The female had partly moulted the sides of the breast (greenish with some streaks) but flanks and breast (between throat and belly) were still streaked. The nesting tree was climbed on 21 August: the nest was well concealed from above and contained three small nestlings (blood shafts visible in the oldest young). Some droppings on the rim of the nest were presumably deposited by the incubating female. Droppings of the nestlings were either swallowed or -more often- transported away from the nest by the parents. Typically, while bringing food male and female silently approached the nest together, nest visits being of short duration (often less than one minute). After having fed the young, the parents left the nest together, uttering soft "kiep-kiep" sounds. The youngest nestling was clearly smaller than the other two, but it was equally well fed and fledged successfully. The nestlings fledged on 31 August. Four days before fledging, begging could be distinctly heard from the ground when the young were being fed. A few days before fledging, the young started to sit on the nest rim. Although their size was similar to that of the parents, wings were not yet fully grown and blood shafts were still visible. Bills were not yet crossed, but small hooks were already visible.