Morning Bird Pic

[sleigh]

The cardinal featured over the last two days I think of as the "scruffy cardinal." I see him as the stereotypical bad boy who attracts potential lovers because he's wild and and a little dangerous and unusual. We also have another cardinal who is the "GQ cardinal," because he's more classically arrayed. A pretty boy.

I've also noted, since we have more than one cardinal pair around our feeders (I think we may have three...) that cardinals are territorial. They don't like having other cardinals around. I've seen both male and female cardinals actively chase off other cardinals they consider interlopers. Don't know if they're protecting the feeder or their respective mates (because often if one gender shows up, often so will their mate), or if it's just that they won't tolerate other cardinals in the same immediate area, but it's interesting to watch when it occurs.

Here's GQ cardinal, showing off his cover pose with a male house finch and a goldfinch. Lots of color in this one!

Comments

[maiac.livejournal.com]

House finch: "Hey, there's that photographer again! I hope he gets my good side."

Cardinals are fiercely territorial during the breeding season, less so in the winter. I've seen small flocks of cardinals around my feeder in the winter. One day last winter: "Hey, there are two female cardinals out there... no, three... and two males, whoops, only one now, he chased the other away... wait, are there four females... five... six... seven... and here comes the other male again!" I think the final total was eight females, but since they kept moving around, it was like trying to count the Rollright Stones.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Goldfinch: "Nom, nom, nom..."

It'l be interesting to see the seasonal changes, as I've only had the feeder up since (I think) April.

[maiac.livejournal.com]

I rarely see goldfinches during the summer. There must be enough free-range food in the neighborhood that they don't have to fight their way through the sparrows to get to my feeder. House finches are more common in the winter, too.

Right now I have a family of Blue Jays among my regular visitors. Most of them won't stay, but it's fun to see them while they're here.