After posting my sighting of a Hoary Redpoll, I went through a lot of angst as to whether I had actually seen a Hoary. The eBird sighting results for Hoary and Common show that Common are much more “common” in Idaho, and that Hoary has only rarely been seen in Idaho. So I started looking at all the resources I could find to see if I could locate something definitive.

Along the way, I discovered that there have been attempts to “lump” the 2 species, along with the Eurasian version, based on an essentially identical genetic makeup. That hasn’t happened yet, obviously. But I kept reading and reviewing photos, and I believe I have found a photo that is similar to the bird I saw in my back yard. If you follow this link: http://www.jeaniron.ca/2015/redpollsRP.htm, you will see a series of photos of the various types of Redpoll. Scroll down to the “Southern” Hoary Redpoll and you will see a series of photos. The very first photo of a “Southern” is the closest I can find to the bird I saw, after looking at probably a hundred or so pictures of Redpolls (isn’t the internet amazing?).

Anyway, I just wanted to clarify my sighting and put everyone on the lookout for this tiny visitor. Unfortunately, the neighbor across the alley is having a large tree removed today, with all the noise that attends such an endeavor, so there’s little likelihood that my visitor will return today. But I hope he visits someone with good binoculars—and maybe a camera. (Jason, I’m talking to you.)

Tom McCabe, Boise