Redpolls!

My dad and I headed down to the Owego Wetlands this morning to see a flock of 40 Common Redpolls that had been reported there the day before. It didn't take long to spot the large group of them feeding on sunflower and thistle near the road. The only bad thing was that they wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a good photo. I would often put my camera up and right as I was about to take the picture the birds would move. It was very frustrating but eventually and with much persistence I got least one identifiable picture. Even though the best picture I got is bad it's better than not having one. My dad and I followed the birds around as they went from place to place in search of food. One bird in the flock looked like a Hoary Redpoll but he never stated still long enough for me to positively identify it. In flight I could see that the bird had a very white and unstreaked rump and it was rather frost colored as well. The flock contained some male redpolls with gorgeous red bibs which made it worth it.

We eventually lost track of the flock after a couple hours of watching them. We tried and tried to find them again but they were not to be seen. It looked like they headed straight for the middle of the wetland nowhere near the road. Even though they left sooner than I wished it was still worth the trip.

Thanks Stan for the great find!