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Redpoll

 

 

 We only meet redpolls during migration periods and in winter – they do not nest in Estonia. The number of winterers depends of course on the "seed year“ quality. Redpolls like to feed on birch and alder seeds or the seeds of the weeds that stick out of the snow. They appear at the bird feeder in frosty weather, always in groups, mostly in the countryside or city outskirts. They feed mostly on the ground, from seeds that others have spilled out from the feeder. The number of winterers fluctuates widely from year to year – from some ten thousand to half a million birds.

 

Redpolls are pretty and not especially shy of people. The carmine red forehead and the yellow beak are striking. The back and the sides of the little bird are striped lengthwise. Male birds have a pinkish breast to show off. The plumage is very variable between individuals, some may even lack the species characteristic  - the red forehead. In size their weight is between great tits and blue tits.