God, they are SOOOooo beautiful! I don’t know what it is about Cardinals that really turns me on. I am enraptured by their beauty, their markings, their brilliant color. Not really overly-religious, however, I look at these birds and wonder why they were created in this manner. Why are they so strikingly red? Why do they mate for a year? There is a myth that Cardinals mate for life and in a way that could be true since the average life expectancy of a Cardinal is about a year. I am saddened to learn this fact. I thought the Cardinals that return to our feeder year after year were the same couple nesting nearby. And speaking of couples, that is another reason I love these birds so much; When you see a female Cardinal eating, you can be sure that the male is not far away. He is always on the lookout for predators.
Today we have several photos of male and female Cardinals who dwell in Central Park. They may be birds just like Sparrows, Nuthatches and Chickadees but really check out the attitude and demeanor, these Cardinals have great expressions.
Deep In Thought
Now Where Did He Go?
i Can See A Lot From Here
This Is A Good Hair Day
Really, We Have Nothing In Common
Three Red Cardinals
A Christmas Card Cardinal
All photos courtesy of Murray Head
Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
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I love cardinals also! When I lived in Houston I had a climbing bush on the corner of the bedroom wing. Ther was a cardinal making a nest then she hatched her baby birdies. I was the big mama Berti watching her chicks and would always check on my Bertis. Later that afternoon I came back and all the chicks were gone! The mother cardinal was screeching! I looked around and all the baby birds were on the bricked path! I was hysterically crying and all by myself. Justin was in CT and my 2nd X was in PA with my parents. Needless to say they all laughed at me on the phone while I was crying. I took the only surviving bird to the Audubon Society. Two days later they told me it died and I did the best I could under these circumstance of a Blue Jay attack. I still hate Blue Jays to this day!
Oh Juanita, how sad that is! I know how you felt. Last summer we arrived at the cottage only to find a cardinal dead on the sidewalk. A victim of one of the stray cats I believe. I know Blue Jays are wicked that way and it is so awful. Part of the great food chain I guess but the Jay just killed them not ate them? We feel badly because we love Cardinals but when a hawk gets a pigeon in my yard, I’m glad and that’s mean but again part of the food chain I guess. I just love the Cardinal’s face with the black mask!
We have cardinals year round in Louisville. They are beautiful, and are gorgeous sitting at a feeder in the snow. I didn’t know the life span was a year. That is sad. I assumed the ones we see are the ones who normally here every year. Blue Jays are gorgeous too, but, as Juanita stated above, can be very mean. They just eat the suet we put out, and chase any other birds away who try to even attempt to get near the suet. Hawks, now that’s another story! They scare me! Occasionally, we have a huge one sitting on our privacy fence in the back yard. They sit forever and just survey the situation. I’m scared they’re going to get one of the squirrels or birds.
Hi Ruby, Thanks for leaving a comment on the blog. Actually we really like the Blue Jays who come to our back yard also. They rarely go to the feeder BUT they love to fly in and land on the table and pick up peanuts. They are so bold that they will actually land on the table while I stand there and we have pics of one landing on the porch railing while we are sitting on the porch.. I think I will post it.
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