At the end of February, in the Renda district of the Dienvidkurzeme region of a/s “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM), in a forest massif near Lake Usma, LVM environmental expert Gaidis Grandāns observed the parrot crossbill, a species very rarely found throughout Latvia. The environmental expert identified a pair of crossbills in a habitat suitable for nesting.

Both parrot crossbills and the relatively common common crossbills are among the earliest nesting bird species in Latvia. The crossbill nesting season is prolonged, but in the earliest clutches, it is already possible for chicks to be present in crossbill nests.