Participant Photo: 6 degrees below

Right before Christmas the temperatures plunged for several days. It was 6 degrees below 0 at noon on my count day, and I had over twice as many house finches as usual. This stunning little red and gold male was a newcomer I had never seen before. Note how his right foot is drawn up into his breast feathers. 🙂

I am in a very rural area at 6900 feet in oak brush.