...(Un)Common Redpoll!

I had to do it - had to blip a redpoll. This is an unusual bird in our area as they usually don't come this far south in the winters. However, this in an "irruptive" year for them; hunger is driving them further from their normal winter feeding grounds. These are members of the finch family and are very tiny, about the weight of 4 US pennies. They breed in the arctic and are extremely well suited to cold temperatures. They sometimes forage in flocks of 100 or more birds - thankfully there are only 3 camped out at my feeders right now! Curiously, they don't seem to be fearful of humans and I have been able to get within 5 feet of them - too close for Big Daddy, actually! To get this shot, I had to back up a few paces. This is straight out of the camera. And, it may be worth a look in LARGE.

If you'd like to see some other shots of the redpolls, I posted six shots here on Flickr.

It is another beautiful sunny day, but the high will be only about 30 degrees F, so very cold. And we still have a blanket of snow on the ground, so walking is a bit hazardous. Never-the-less, hubs and I had a nice walk yesterday on a trail that had been plowed - cold noses and pink cheeks after two miles, but it felt good. A bit too brisk today for a long walk, so I'll content myself with taking some dried corn out into the woods behind our house - it is good for the squirrels and doves, keeps them away from the feeders. Well, except for Sylvia Squirrel who seems to have bulked up over the holidays...

Because of the temps and snow cover, business at the Bistro is booming - lots of finches, chickadees, titmice, doves, jays and even a red-winged blackbird!

Thanks for all the comments and stars on yesterday's vultures - much to my surprise, they made it to the Spotlight for a brief time. Who knew that vultures would be so well-liked? :)

Happy Thursday!

xxoo
Debbi