Common redpoll

Common redpoll with a red cap and rosy chest perched on a snow-dusted crabapple branch, Manitoba

A raspberry-red cap, a rosy wash across the chest, and a streaked, frosty body make the common redpoll one of the most charming visitors of a Manitoba winter. This tiny finch breeds in the Arctic and subarctic and moves south as the cold sets in, often arriving in chattering flocks to feed in birches, weedy fields, and backyard feeders.

Redpolls eat small seeds such as birch, alder, and thistle, and they can store seeds in a throat pouch to digest later in a sheltered spot, which helps them survive bitter nights. Numbers vary a lot from year to year, so some winters bring big flocks and others hardly any. This one is perched above a branch of snow-dusted crabapples.

For more on the common redpoll and its habitat, see its species guide at All About Birds.

Here is one of my favourite frames of this bird, fluffed up against the winter cold.

Field notes in photographs

  • Common redpoll with a red cap and rosy chest perched on a snow-dusted crabapple branch, Manitoba
  • Two common redpolls perched on a dry stem
  • Common redpolls feeding on dry seed heads in snow

Common redpoll Manitoba sightings

Where and when you can find the common redpoll in Manitoba depends on the season and the habitat. You can see more species in the Manitoba birds section.

Map of Manitoba showing where the common redpoll nests, migrates, and spends the winter, with major cities and lakes
Where to look for the common redpoll in Manitoba through the seasons: nesting in the Taiga Shield, the Hudson Plains, and the Southern Arctic (gold), passing through the Boreal Shield and the Boreal Plains in spring and fall (lilac), and wintering in the Prairies (blue). Habitat regions: National Ecological Framework for Canada. Boundaries: Statistics Canada. Lakes: Natural Earth.

Back to Manitoba bird photography, or see the portfolio.

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