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A cardinal rule
By adamg on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 9:59pm
Jody, who took the above photo today, reports that that rule is: If you see a bird like this on a day like today, by the time you run upstairs to get your camera with the zoom lens, it will have flown away. She also has a request for her readers for when summer rolls along.
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Comments
Wow!
That's a gorgeous picture!
Thanks!
Thank you!
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From the brains behind http://www.bigdumptruck.com
I love cardinals....
...and frequently hear them -- but rarely _see_ them in Boston. (Used to see them all the time in both Chicago and Atlanta). Back in my hometown (Tulsa) ling ago, my father sort of adopted a family of cardinals that made their nest in a hanging flower basket on our back porch. When I last visited our old home (several years after my parents moved North -- visiting an old neighbor), one of the (former) baby cardinals followed me around. ;~}
Cardinals in Roslindale
We're averaging one cardinal sighting a year. Maybe all the bluejays drive them out? Or does that show my complete ignorance of birds?
Blue Jays versus Cardinals
Not sure how much dietary competition there is between these birds. They've always co-existed everywhere else I've lived.
I hear cardinals almost all the time (during the proper time of year), so they are around (not sure how many) even if unseen.
Different Leagues
The MLB has the Blue Jays in the American League and the Cardinals in the national league.
They would only compete in the World Series, should they both make it. Maybe we are seeing inter-league play?
Once a year?
I see them every single day at my back yard feeder in Rozzie. And I hear them even more often. I've got at least one pair, maybe two nearby. Nothing says home turf to me quite like the call of a cardinal. What cheer.
The blue jays come too, but they don't seem to have driven the red fellow(s) off. They can't patrol the feeder 24/7. The cardinal is territorial, and has to keep fairly close to the nest to bring home the bacon, so maybe you just don't have a nest close enough to your house for them to come by more often. Do you have a feeder? The mate-feeding is adorable. The males go 'here sweetie, have a seed' and hand it over with their beaks.
Feeder?
No thanks, the squirrels around here have enough to eat, and I'm tired of having to remove their bloated carcasses from our pool in the spring :-).
But that's cool you have 'em (the cardinals, that is) as regular visitors.
Go figure
I've never once had a squirrel at my feeder.
Obviously
That's 'cause they're all over at Adam's place, partying and swimming in the pool.
Swimming rodents
Once found an almost drowned rat in our "rain barrel" (must have fallen off from our roof -- shiver).
I've seen several cardinals
I've seen several cardinals on Fort Hill recently (or one cardinal several times, I don't know; we haven't been formally introduced). Likewise with blue jays...I haven't noticed a preponderance of one over the other.
Watertown Cardinals
We regularly have a couple of them to look at from our kitchen window.
A couple of things to note about cardinals, and why they may seem lesser in number than they are:
1 - The male is the only one that's bright red. The females, while having the same configuration, have a brown/grey color.
2 - Cardinals tend to nest close to the ground. Some build nests in hedges and the like. So, they aren't as likely to fly as high as jays and others.
Sulbirddog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Can't build nests too close to the ground....
...on our street -- or cardinals would become extinct (at least there). Too many vicious outdoor cats roam our street. ;~{
Female Cardinals...
... aren't allowed in the Catholic Church. However, if you want to see a particularly good shot of one, go to:
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
In contrast to cardinals
We have tons of jays; sometimes they have regular conventions down on our backyard fence. Also tons of crows, which I, at least, like. So, yeah, it's a regular squawkfest out here somedays.
But the parrot across the street? Him, I could do without.
Parrot?
Is this the green guy who hangs with the grackles?
We haven't seen him for several years!
If only it were a Norwegian Blue
But, alas, no, the neighbors kitty-corner from us have an actual, albeit indoor, parrot. I've never actually seen it, but nothing like sitting on your back porch (on the other side of your frickin' house from the street) enjoying a nice day when all of a sudden you hear: