Find the food … find the birds! After an entire winter (last year) of nary a Common Redpoll being seen in Minnesota I found Redpoll heaven this morning quite by accident. I was walking the Lakewalk after some medical appointments when I heard birdsong. Suddenly I realized all the tansy that has taken over the Scenic Railroad right of way was attracting hundreds of Common Redpolls.
I will note I made a “rookie mistake”. My camera had been set up for individual images with a two second delay (perfect for landscape photography), but horrible for bird photography. Given the cool morning (20F) and my stocking cap, I did not hear that my shutter / camera was taking many fewer photos than I imagined. Oh well …. I hope I will be medically approved soon for driving a car again. These redpolls will stay on location for quite a few days given the abundance of food at their chosen location (and nearby cover).
Common Redpolls
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Redpolls are so tiny! Whenever I see them thriving in our world, it gives me hope.
Never saw a Redpoll. Thanks for sharing those pics.
it seems like they’re eating tansy- do you think so?
thanks for the pictures!
Common Redpolls and other winter finches love tansy seed. If you find a large patch of these invasive flowers, birds will often be around. My patch is along the North Shore Scenic Railroad between 51st and McCulloch Ave … hundreds of Redpolls. Went back this afternoon and took more photographs.