Lots of winter birds at the feeders, and a pileated woodpecker was feeding for a long time on a poplar in the neighbouring woods. Of note is some comparative data: last year, we saw a solitary redpoll in our yard on January 17, and a sizable flock was seen at our feeders on January 24 (and stayed for many weeks afterwards). This year, a solitary redpoll was seen with chickadees on January 10, and today we saw a large flock feeding in our yard for most of the day. So, though I know they have been in the area for a while, at Hastings Lake they seem to have arrived a week earlier than last year.