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What Birds Are In Canadian Gardens Right Now? (1 Viewer)

VT said:
On a brighter note, I have to add one more bird! I've had lots of Common Redpolls, but this is my first confirmed Hoary Redpoll. I was so excited that I could hardly take a picture so please excuse the focus.
I know what you mean about hoarys!! I spotted one in the yard this winter too... first I've seen in close to 5 years. Turns out I have 3!! I also have a partial albino common redpoll which I'm just totally in love with. He's adorable! I had the hardest time telling the hoarys apart from the commons but now it's almost second nature. Arent' they beautiful?! :)
 
Tammie said:
I know what you mean about hoarys!! I spotted one in the yard this winter too... first I've seen in close to 5 years. Turns out I have 3!! I also have a partial albino common redpoll which I'm just totally in love with. He's adorable! I had the hardest time telling the hoarys apart from the commons but now it's almost second nature. Arent' they beautiful?! :)


You have a leucistic Common Redpoll? I just saw a picture of one on the local Calgary website that I volunteer for. Does it look like your bird?

http://weaselhead.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=703
 
Thanks Larry,

It's always a thrill to see a new bird (let alone get a picture of one) as everyone here must know....:)
 
VT said:
You have a leucistic Common Redpoll? I just saw a picture of one on the local Calgary website that I volunteer for. Does it look like your bird?

http://weaselhead.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=703
Mine isn't as white as that all over... only the head on mine is white along with pink legs instead of black. I also have a couple with different coloration on them, like the one below with a big white patch on it's back. Someone told me it too was a hoary but I'm not certain. Seems to have too much streaking for that but who knows? I'm not known for my ID skills!
 

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Wow! Now those are very interesting birds. I agree that the white-backed is probably not a Hoary, but I'm not known for my ID skills either. It would take a real expert to figure that one out.

Something else I've noticed with Common Redpolls, is the deep red/pink males also have a pink rump. Have you noticed this?

Shauneen
 
VT said:
Wow! Now those are very interesting birds. I agree that the white-backed is probably not a Hoary, but I'm not known for my ID skills either. It would take a real expert to figure that one out.

Something else I've noticed with Common Redpolls, is the deep red/pink males also have a pink rump. Have you noticed this?

Shauneen
I've noticed this on some but not all of them. I've seen lots this winter that have the white rump or back, but on some, you can only see it when they fly. It's very confusing! I noticed this morning that I have a couple more hoarys in the mix... at least 5 now! Yippee!! :)
I've just finished taking a bunch of photos of them again but I haven't looked at them yet. I'm hoping I caught something interesting. I'll let you know if I did! :)
 
I have to add another bird to my Backyard sightings. The 'Common Orangepoll". What do you think?
 

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Interesting bird, Shauneen! My guess would be that the orange is caused by a deficiency of red pigmentation in the feathers. Don't think it's full leucism because it looks pretty normal otherwise.

Jason
 
Yes, I've heard of this diet deficiency in House Finches, and Crossbills, but not in a Redpoll. But since they're all finches, I suppose it's not unheard of. I wonder how common this is?
 
VT said:
I have to add another bird to my Backyard sightings. The 'Common Orangepoll". What do you think?

Very cool, Shauneen! I've never seen a redpoll like that but I do have all kinds of female pine grosbeaks with that color.... and browns..... and yellows.....and golds. Lots of variation with them but not in redpolls.
 
snowyowl said:
There have been two leucistic Redpolls reported here in the last couple of weeks.
Boy, it's nice to be back. I was off the forum for a few days because of computer proplems. This site really is addictive.
I wondered what happened to you..... thought the snow finally collapsed your phone lines or something!! ;)
Scary how addictive this place is, isn't it?!
 
Freezing rain and snow last night and coming again today with the result that the birds were lined up waiting for me to fill the feeders this morning. All of the usual suspects, lots of C. Redpolls, B-c Chickadees, B.Jays, A. Crows, DE Juncos, a few A. Tree Sparrows and Mourning Doves, 2 Downy Woodpeckers and one Hairy. There are a few House Sparrows and a single E. Starling. I haven't seen the A. Goldfinches yet today although they might be at the feeders on the other side of the house. No sign of the W-t. Sparrow that I heard on Wednesday. Days like this always make me optimistic that something new will show up at the feeders.
Another positive about a day like today is the tracking. I don't know if it's the ice under the the skin of snow or what, but every track seems to show up perfectly. The tracks of the juncos are absolutely perfect, I should try to get some pictures, they are so neat. A skunk had walked down the path to the barn and I could see the indents from everyone of it's nails. As I said, neat!
 
snowyowl said:
Freezing rain and snow last night and coming again today with the result that the birds were lined up waiting for me to fill the feeders this morning. All of the usual suspects, lots of C. Redpolls, B-c Chickadees, B.Jays, A. Crows, DE Juncos, a few A. Tree Sparrows and Mourning Doves, 2 Downy Woodpeckers and one Hairy. There are a few House Sparrows and a single E. Starling. I haven't seen the A. Goldfinches yet today although they might be at the feeders on the other side of the house. No sign of the W-t. Sparrow that I heard on Wednesday. Days like this always make me optimistic that something new will show up at the feeders.
Another positive about a day like today is the tracking. I don't know if it's the ice under the the skin of snow or what, but every track seems to show up perfectly. The tracks of the juncos are absolutely perfect, I should try to get some pictures, they are so neat. A skunk had walked down the path to the barn and I could see the indents from everyone of it's nails. As I said, neat!
We had some pretty nasty weather the past couple of days too, Dan. Windy!!! A bit of snow, not much... mainly just so windy but it got cold again too.. -22C this morning again... UGH! I want spring!
The grosbeaks and redpolls are eating me out of house and home once again. Good thing I stocked up last week!!
 
VT said:
I have to add another bird to my Backyard sightings. The 'Common Orangepoll". What do you think?

Hi VT + All,
Early last week I had two brief sightings of a male Common Redpoll with an orange breast. At the time, the backyard and immediate neighbouring yards had about 300+ redpolls and he quickly got lost in the crowd.

I have also seen a Hoary Redpoll on a couple of occasions (just saw another about ten minutes ago) but I've never seen one on the window feeder where I can get a decent photo of it.
This is about the best I've got so far, a female Hoary with a male Common:
http://members.shaw.ca/el_supremo/HORE_f_0401_1897.JPG

Best Wishes
Pete
Saskatoon, SK
 
VT, how I envy you your Hoary Redpoll--AND the photo to prove it! Well, not that we have to prove what we saw, but the very mention of a Hoary Redpoll does make others wonder, so it's excellent to be able to say, "And here it is!"

I had a wonderful adventure many years ago in Calgary, with a pair of Common Redpolls. We were renting a big old house on 16th Av East, in a run-down but once-pretty neighborhood. There was a broken greenhouse in the unkempt back yard, and one frigid day, one of two Redpolls got himself inside the greenhouse and couldn't get out. There were all sorts of broken panes of glass, but he couldn't figure it out, of course.

So I slowly went inside, and very very slowly I put one hand in front of him, which he watched warily while I snuck my second hand up behind him, and caught him.

I took him outside, and gradually I released my fingers so he was perched for a few moments with nothing restraining him. He was fine; he'd just been somewhat scared to find himself in the old greenhouse. Then he flew off and--fairy-tale ending--was immediately joined by the other redpoll, so the last I saw was them flying away together!

I've never seen a Hoary Redpoll--would be a life record! Congratulations. :)
 
What a wonderful story Carson! I used to live in Vancouver, so I'm envious of your climate. I wasn't into birds then, so all I really remember is the #@** crows that woke me up each morning.

It's interesting that House Finches are slowing making their way here from the coast, and from the East, but I haven't seen one in Calgary yet.

As for the Hoary, who knows if I'll ever see one again, but I'll sure be looking every winter. Only 2 Redpolls today, so they're probably on the way North. The Gulls are starting to arrive - a sure sign that spring is just around the corner.
 
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