As the title suggests, I'm not an experienced birder!
I was out walking on Christmas Eve, and I saw a large group of birds on a birch tree. To my amazement, there was a large group of goldfinches, yellowhammers and redpolls all together, feasting on the seeds. As an additional bonus, I also saw a very large flock of bramblings! :)
I have no idea whether these were redpolls or lesser redpolls, though, and I am hoping someone can help me to tell the difference.
The warm brown uppers on these birds suggest lesser redpoll. Mealy/common redpolls look like they've been dunked briefly in peroxide giving them a mainly pale grey appearance.