Part of the Evening Grosbeak and Purple Finch irruption of fall 2020, the Common Redpolls have found their way to southeast Michigan.
The brown and white birds, smaller than a sparrow, have a distinctive red forehead patch, rosy breast (males) and streaked sides.
When I’ve seen the Common Redpolls in our area, they’re traveling in flocks of 40 to 50 birds.
They’re very skittish, making it a challenge to view and identify them before they fly off to another tree.
In a typical winter, Common Redpolls are seen in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin. They breed in the Arctic and travel south for winter.
Which is why so many birders in Michigan are delighted to see them in the Lower Peninsula, including me!
I think I may have seen these a little while ago in some bushes in front of the credit union around the corner from my house.
There were quite a few and they were a little smaller than sparrows, but “sparrow-like” and as you said, very skittish, it was just impossible to get a good look, especially with a busy puppy next to me. I tried to get some details because I wanted to ask you what they might have been!
Could they have been in Livonia, sometime early in December?
Hi Cleo,
It’s possible! Common Redpolls have been seen in our area since November. However, some people might confuse them with American Tree Sparrows (similar size) which also have a copper top on their head. But American Tree Sparrows usually have a black spot or mark on their breast. And no reddish tinge on their breast.
It’s the behavior that you mentioned that triggered my memory, there were a lot of them, I’ve rarely seen that many birds of one type in a group. The way they would scatter and gather very quickly as a group was also unusual.