Hoary Redpoll pics

This afternoon I spent some time with the redpolls at Beaver Lake Nature Center near Baldwinsville, NY. There were roughly 30 Common Redpolls and in with them was this female HOARY REDPOLLFemale Hoary Redpoll, upper right birdCheck out those undertail coverts!Now here's another female redpoll that I watched for a while...I first noticed it when it was the only female redpoll around and it looked promisingI should mention it DID NOT look this pale to me in real life. The photos make it look much frostier than it appeared to me at the timeA shot of the undertail coverts. Clearly a different individual than the "real" female HoaryFemale redpoll in question on the right, male Common Redpoll on the left. Doesn't stand out so much in this lighting. This is more what it looked like to me through binocularsNot sure what I think about this bird. The bill / head shape don't really stand out to me. I was never able to reliably pick it out once the flock returned. Like I said before, the photos look more like a Hoary than the bird did. On the other hand, the clean white rump and very limited undertail streaking seem good for Hoary. Send me an email if you have any thoughts. I have very limited experience with this plumage. Here's a final shot...