I was lucky enough to witness a flock of Crossbills early this evening at Coed Dolgoed. My guestimate is of 20-25 birds in total and I occasionally had 4 or 5 in the scope at the same time. This bird is a 1st for me and I've really been spoilt. There were cones falling all around me. There were 5 or 6 brightly coloured males. They seemed to be content to stay in one area, I was watching for a good hour & a half - I had to tear myself away from them in the end. They were in the area where the last bird box is situated in the wood. A few siskins were with them. 6 Lesser Redpoll & a couple of willow warbler families also seen.
I'm not sure how well known Coed Dolgoed is, so; It's approx 3/4 mile from Pontrhydfendigaid village centre towards Strata Florida Abbey, car park on right before the bridge, follow the nest boxes for half a mile and the last nest box is 150 yds inside the wood. Someone else had mentioned seeing crossbills there a few days ago so hopefully there's a good chance of seeing them (again!)
Andre Marsh