Hi Again,
Realizing that identifying Hoary Redpolls is usually a challenge and that
neither of us has much experience with them, I asked Esther last night for some
more specifics. She said there were just 2 birds she felt confident were
Hoarys. She also said the bills on these birds were shorter than the others
and that that their undersides had almost no streaking.
This morning we had about 50 Common Redpolls. As I was watching some of them
through binos in the "feeder tree" I was surprised when I looked at the ground,
almost directly under the tree, and discovered a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK with a
small bird in it's talons. Couldn't quite make out which species it had caught
but I think it was one of the Redpolls. The sharpie flew off with it's catch
along with all the other birds that just then seemed to realize the threat to
their safety. Another great start to the day!
David
--- On Tue, 1/4/11, David McCartt wrote:
From: David McCartt
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Hoary Redpolls- Richford
To: "CayugaBirds" ,
cny-naturalhist...@darkstar.cortland.edu
Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2011, 8:49 AM
Hi All,
This morning Esther and I were treated to the sight of 110+ Redpolls as they
swirled around our front yard. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to really
check them out but Esther did and she got a good count as they came down to
forage under the feeders. There were still some up in the elm but they
scattered before she could count them. However, she was pretty certain that
there were a few HOARY REDPOLLS in this flock. She noted that these birds were
distinctly lighter in color than the others and really stood out amongst the
crowd.
Good Birding,
David McCartt
Tubbs Hill Rd.
Richford
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