Gah! Talon to the face! Photo contest entrant Isabelle Marozzo grabbed her camera after a flock of common redpolls arrived at her Norland, Ont., property on a snowy, windy day. This pair is clearly having a disagreement—which is unusual, says Mark Peck, an ornithologist with the Royal Ontario Museum. “Redpolls tend to be very social and usually get along very well,” he says. So what’s up? “I have noticed them being aggressive at feeders when there is limited access to seeds or feeding perches.” Makes sense. Except, “I had feeders hanging on a clothing line, and in empty flowerpots on the railings on my deck,” says Isabelle. “There were lots of seeds out.” And the scuffle was brief. Huh. Well, “maybe it was just a grumpy bird whose personal space was invaded,” says Peck. We get that. Those social distancing rules are hard to unlearn.
This article was originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Cottage Life.
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