Many thanks for the response Dave. I finally managed to track some down at Bowland fell country park and during a week in Scotland near Loch Ness. What a wonderful, slightly comical bird.

Crossbill numbers vary tremendously from year to year in Greater Manchester, as in most parts of the UK, being linked to cycles in their food sources and related breeding success elsewhere. It's also worth bearing in mind that a lot of the records are of calling birds moving overhead. Good luck

Many thanks Mike

IIRC the Ranger Station in Macclesfield forest is a really good spot for Crossbill

Hello All.
I was just wondering if the Crossbills around Winter Hill appear annually at this time of year? We've been searching for the last couple of months but without success.
Many thanks
Chris