Country Come to Town

Bohemian Waxwing

By James Reddoch

“Elbows off the table and sit up straight,” my mother used to say when we ate out. “You’re like country come to town.” It didn’t matter that we were from the country—this was her way of nudging us toward better behavior.

That phrase came to mind last week when reports began circulating of some decidedly “country” birds showing up in Bethel village. Evening grosbeaks, redpolls, and Bohemian waxwings were being seen around town. These species typically inhabit more remote boreal forests at higher elevations and areas farther north, but conditions can occasionally push them south.

According to the 2025–2026 Winter Finch Forecast (Yes, there is such a thing!), poor seed and fruit production in parts of their natural range is likely driving an influx of these irregular winter visitors into New England.

With that in mind, I headed into town, binoculars in hand. You may have seen me wandering Bethel’s streets, stopping at yards with bird feeders or ornamental fruit trees, especially cherry and crabapple.

Here’s what I was hoping to find:

Evening grosbeak

Evening Grosbeaks are stocky, robin-sized birds, with males sporting brilliant yellow plumage accented by black and white. Their powerful bills allow them to crush seeds and fruit pits, and they readily visit feeders, particularly those stocked with black sunflower seeds.

Common Redpoll

Redpolls are small, sparrow-sized finches, often compared to pine siskins. Females’ colors are streaky and subdued, while males show brighter red on the forehead and chest. They travel in flocks and frequently visit feeders.

Bohemian Waxwings, larger than their cedar waxwing cousins, are buff-colored birds with jaunty crests, black masks, and yellow-tipped tails. In town, they move through in flocks, searching ornamental fruit trees.

Red Crossbills

Red Crossbills are named for their oddly crossed bills, perfectly adapted for prying open conifer cones to reach the seeds inside.

Despite my efforts, I didn’t find these birds during my town walks. Back home, though, evening grosbeaks appeared at my feeders, and crossbills called from the surrounding pines. In the end, country didn’t need to come to town after all.

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Photo Credits: 

Evening Grosbeak photo by Cephas. Permission to use is under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2

Common Redpoll photo by dfaulder.  This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Bohemian Waxwing photo by Estormiz. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Red crossbill photo by Elaine R. Wilson, www.naturespicsonline.com and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Sources: 

Gillihan, S. W. and B. E. Byers (2025). Evening Grosbeak (Hesperiphona vespertina), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, F. B. Gill, and M. G. Smith, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.evegro.01.1

Knox, A. G., G. Sangster, P. E. Lowther, and P. Clement (2024). Redpoll (Acanthis flammea), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman and M. G. Smith, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.redpol1.01

Witmer, M. C. (2024). Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bohwax.01.1