On a brighter and more colorful note UDATED

This morning our birdfeeder was visited by a bunch of common redpolls, a small bird we had not see here before, although they winter in Wisconsin. They all showed up at once and began crowding along the edge of the feeder. Apparently they can be coaxed into eating out of your hand, much like chickadees. Besides the redpolls, however, we were having snow showers and I did not feel like playing the St. Francis statue with hands full of seeds while the weather was less than balmy. Anyway, it was nice to add a new bird to our list.

UPDATE: Peggy thinks I may have seen house or purple finches. Those I have certainly seen around here before, and she may be right.