Birding News ALBERTA JANUARY 2020 (Common and Hoary) Common redpolls will quickly gather numerous whole seeds and store them in an expandable section of their throat called the diverticulum. Once they have flown One of the "winter finches," nesting in the Arctic and sometimes to the safety of dense cover they will regurgitate the invading southern Canada and the northern states. Redpolls are tiny, restless birds, feeding actively on seeds among trees and weeds, whole seed, husk it and then re-swallow the nut meat. fluttering and climbing about acrobatically, their flocks seemingly They will also fill the diverticulum with seed just before always on the move. For their small size, they have a remarkable the onset of darkness in order to provide an extra source ability to survive cold temperatures; their southward flights are of energy to help them survive the night. sparked by temporary scarcity of food in the North, not by cold. At bird feeders in winter, redpolls are often remarkably tame. Common redpolls are energetic little birds that forage in flocks, gleaning, fluttering, or hanging upside down in the farthest tips of tree Migration branches. Like many finches, they have an undulating, up-and-down Migrates by day, in flocks. Very irregular pattern when they fly. To keep order in flocks, redpolls have several in winter range, probably moving only as ways of indicating their intentions. When quarreling with flock mates, a far south as necessary to find food. redpoll fluffs its plumage, faces its adversary, and opens its bill, sometimes jutting its chin to display the black face patch. Males court females by flying in slow circles while calling and singing. Males may feed females during courtship. You may see small flocks of this social The tiny Common redpoll, one of the smallest members species even during the breeding season; during migration they may of the finch family, weighs only as much as four pennies, group into the thousands. In winter, some redpolls roost in tunnels under the snow, where the snowpack provides insulation and stays yet it survives the cold and darkness of winter in the far much warmer than the night air. north. Most birds depart in autumn to warmer climes. But redpolls feed on birch and alder seeds that are available throughout the winter, no matter how deep the snow. They do it in the cleverest of ways through a series of precise adaptations. Redpolls are acrobats, feeding with ease on the smallest of branches, even hanging upside down to extract seeds from birch catkins. They may shake a catkin vigorously, then drop to the snow to pick up the fallen seeds in a more sheltered spot. This little bird typically eats 40% of its body weight in seeds every day to keep itself alive. The redpoll’s expanded esophagus allows it to store large numbers of seeds during rapid feeding. The bird then retires to a dense conifer and while sheltered from the freezing winds, brings up the seeds one by one, cracking their shells and swallowing the nutritious kernels. In a land of extreme winter conditions, redpolls are survivors. Top 5 Tips for Feeding Redpolls 1) Offer fresh nyjer seed—make sure your nyjer seed (aka thistle or niger) is fresh (less than 2 months old, whether it’s in the feeder or in the bag). Also make sure the seed is loose and dry in the feeder. 2) Hang multiple finch feeders—Redpolls are VERY gregarious. Flocks can number over 100. Having multiple finch feeders for them will allow you to host more Redpolls. 3) Use a mesh finch feeder—Most finch tube-type feeders limit the number of birds on it at one time to the number of perches it has. A mesh finch feeder allows more Redpolls to cling on the feeder to eat and the sight is amazing—looks like a busy-beehive! 4) Keep your feeders and feeding area clean—Redpolls are susceptible to salmonellosis, and because of their flocking behaviour, they could easily spread it to others in the flock. Help them out by cleaning your feeders often with a weak bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) and by cleaning the area beneath the feeders as well. 5) Watch for the rare Hoary redpoll—Within any sizeable Redpoll flock, you might be able to pick out a Hoary redpoll, a frostier-coloured cousin of the Common redpoll. Sheep and dog bones can be whittled into orthopedic pins that stabilize pigeons’ fractured wings, helping the fractures to heal properly without follow-up surgery. Researchers describe the treatment, which is cheaper and more efficient than using metal pins for pigeon rehabilitative surgeries. There is no need for the implants to be removed because they will ultimately be absorbed by the body. Therefore the implants can be used for wild birds, such as Eagles, Owls and Gulls. Typically metal pins are used, which is standard for these types of procedures, but researchers noticed imbalance in the flight, take off or landings after fracture repair. Therefore, they wanted a technique to use lightweight pins that they did not need to remove. The team sanded and processed sheep and dog bones, obtained from animals that had previously died, into pins small enough to be inserted into a pigeon’s humeral bones—the wing bone closest to a bird’s body. After 32 weeks of obser- vation, pigeons with sheep or dog bones orthopedic pins were able to fly. The team treated the dog and sheep bones to minimize the risk of rejection or infection. They used hydrogen peroxide to remove grease from the bones and ethylene oxide to sterilize them. 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