Redpolls

A wave of satis- faction rolled over me as I realized the little bird that I thought might have been a Chickadee, flitting about feeding on dried wildflower stalks along the roadside, turned out to be a Redpoll! This was my first Redpoll sighting of this season, and my first since the fall/winter season of 2005/06 for Redpolls are little northern, winter birds that are not typically seen every year in our area . I saw only two Redpolls and one was much lighter and whiter than the other. This leads me to specualte on the possibility that the lighter one might have been a Hoary Redpoll rather than just a Common Redpoll? Seen below is a photo with the two Redpolls in it and the contrast in their colouring can be easily noted.