Ahead in the Polls
Don’t panic but Derby is under invasion this Winter. Thankfully it’s not aliens, zombies or another dreaded virus but something a lot less dangerous and much more pleasing on the eye!
Every year certain bird species find our urban centres a welcome source of warmth, shelter and food as they escape the often colder and more harsh conditions in rural areas or places further afield such as Scandinavia and the near continent. Most people will be familiar with some of our resident Finch species, whether it’s the lovely charms of twittering Goldfinches visiting their garden feeders, striking male Chaffinches (the UK’s most numerous finch) singing from the treetops or shy but beautiful Bullfinches feeding on flower buds in the hedgerows, but in Winter our local lowland finches are bolstered by the arrival of three other species.
The first is the Brambling, a scarce Scandinavian version of our Chaffinch with gorgeous orange, black, brown and peach plumage. The next is the Siskin, a small, streaky yellow and black cracker, that heads down from upland conifer plantations to take advantage of our easier conditions and last, but my no means least, the dainty, lovely Lesser Redpoll. And it’s the latter bird that has been seen in good numbers around the city recently.
Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret) is hardly a rare bird, the UK breeding population is around 220,000 pairs but, like many of our bird species, they have undergone serious declines and they are red-listed as a species of conservation concern.

A flock Lesser Redpoll feeding on Birch catkins near the Derwent
As a breeding bird they are restricted to the upland and woodland of Northern EnglandĀ Wales and Scotland so they are not something we are likely to see in Spring or Summer. In Winter our breeding birds are bolstered by arrivals from Europe and they move ‘downhill’ to take advantage of the milder weather.
The Lesser Redpoll is a delightful little creature, streaky brown above and pale below with a red forehead and, in males, a fabulous pink flush across the chest.
They are a small finch closer in size to a Great tit than a Greenfinch and just as agile, often hanging tit-like upside down to feed on their favourite Birch and Willow catkins (perhaps that entertaining, acrobatic feeding technique is where the ‘cabaret’ part of their Latin name comes from?) before erupting from their chosen tree with a pleasing, trilling call.

Wikimedia Commons – Lesser Redpoll, Glenfeshie, Date 23 March 2013, 10:28. Picture by sighmanb
It’s the profusion of Willow, Alder and Birch Catkins that attracts them to our river valleys at this time of year and the wooded stretches of Derby’s Derwent have been playing host to the best number of Redpoll I can remember. I’ve encountered this species on most of my local riverside walks over the last few weeks and always pause to enjoy their high-wire feeding antics. Even mistaking being covered by the detritus of their catkin dinner for the first flakes of snow as I watched a flock of 23 on Bass Rec earlier this week!
Most years I would count myself fortunate to see Lesser Redpoll once or twice all Winter but there must be a few hundred about the city with flocks of up to 60 being reported by local birders. So next time you are out why not have a look for this beautiful little bird, it might be your best opportunity!