#common redpoll

A bright winter day in Sax Zim Bog, MN

Winter is the perfect time to stuff yourself with all your favorite foods, just like the common redpoll! Adults spend all day collecting nuts and seeds, which they store in their esophagus until they can return to their nests to and crack open their stash. Through this process, they can eat up to 40% of their body weight in one day-- all the energy to keep themselves warm!

Common Redpoll #birbfest day 12.

common redpoll

Photo: Ott Rebane

"One of the 'winter finches,' nesting in the Arctic and sometimes invading southern Canada and the northern states. Redpolls are tiny, restless birds, feeding actively on seeds among trees and weeds, fluttering and climbing about acrobatically, their flocks seemingly always on the move. For their small size, they have a remarkable ability to survive cold temperatures; their southward flights are sparked by temporary scarcity of food in the North, not by cold. At bird feeders in winter, redpolls are often remarkably tame."

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