Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Cardinal/World Bird

 Male cardinal with crumbs on his beak

I have never been so lucky before to meet a cardinal so willing to pose for me. Yesterday, this male was clearly not terribly afraid of me, though he was keeping  his eye on my camera.

 Munching on a tasty seed

The reason? My husband and I were visiting a conservation area where some visitors provided yummies for the birds, chipmunks, squirrels, and - yes - even raccoons.

The seeds were in the sun. Isn't it interesting how some of the cardinal's feathers appear to be yellow? The sun was very bright.

 Hmmm. Is this seed as tasty and fresh as the last one?

I have never thought of cardinals as bullies, but there were two squawking male red-winged blackbirds waiting in line that didn't enter the seed tray until the cardinal was gone.

OH YUM! Big seeds are the best!

I am linking to World Bird Wednesday.

50 comments:

Darla said...

What a beauty. Glad that he has a protected area and lots of seeds.

Darla

Kate said...

These are fantastic and a wonderful series of photos that clearly show the cardinal and his delicious repast!

Jill said...

Stunning shots!

Rose said...

Oh, aren't cardinals handsome? You sure got some great pics. When he is done posing for you, would you send him down to me?

Judy said...

Incredible captures!! The cardinals here are shy, and tend to stay away from people, so I am jealous that you got to spend so much time with this guy!!

Muffy's Marks said...

I love cardinals but can't get them to my feeder, Great shots.

Jack said...

This guy does look a lot lighter than usual in color. It must have been the strong light. I have heard that cardinals are a pretty dominant bird.

Judy said...

He's a beauty. You're so lucky our guys here are a bit camera shy at times.

Becky said...

Don't you just love these Cardinals. I have had an entire family here, and gotten lots of pictures of the babies, but now they have all moved on. Just Mom and Dad still here.
Have a wonderful rest of the week.

Kathy said...

Oh, cardinals are definitely bullies. They are the bad guys of the feeder yard. They hang well with chickadees but let somebody else come into their territory and there is war! We had nine cardinals on our feeders late yesterday afternoon after a rain shower.

Judy said...

Great shots! We rarely see a cardinal here, or the Ceder Waxwing that you posted yesterday.

Dave said...

A smart bird and one that I will get to see one day

Brian King said...

Gorgeous shots! Love how you were nice and close!

TexWisGirl said...

these are incredibly handsome shots!

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Beautiful shots. I like the last one with the big seed in his mouth.

theconstantwalker said...

Wonderful images of a truly beautiful little bird.

Ruth Hiebert said...

He sure was accommodating. It is interesting to see how the sunlight changes the colour of the feathers. Great close-up shots.

FAB said...

Lovely shots of this colourful species.

Anonymous said...

You captured his actions and colorful beauty perfectly.

kayerj said...

I'm glad he sat there so nicely for you.

cieldequimper said...

This is wonderful, la vie en rouge !

Joyful said...

wow! These are fantastic!

T. Becque said...

These birds are so pretty. It's always shocking to see them here in the desert - their bright red against all the brown!

Unknown said...

Great close ups!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Anonymous said...

What a personable fellow is he, to allow you to get those great shots!

RedPat said...

That sun really changes his coulour! Nice ones.

HansHB said...

Awesome post. Such a lovely colour!

Mary said...

Very nice pics. Bird order or rivalry, hum?? I must be there.

Adam Jones said...

I love the Cardinal. Great close ups.

Rowen said...

I've never seen a bird so orange.

eileeninmd said...

You were lucky. If they see my camera they are off. Lovely shots.

mick said...

Great photos of a beautiful bird.

LONDONLULU said...

Wow, so vividly red they move into another band on the color spectrum! They are beautiful birds, I love seeing them around here.

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

Funny I have Cardinals and Red Wing Black Birds and they all seem to do fine together. I always look forward to the Cardinals though ... I never tire of their beauty and I especially love the coloring of the female. Great shots and I agree it is the light that effects how your camera sees the color, not a change in the actual color. But, it doesn't matter the pictures are beautiful.

Andrea @ From The Sol

Stephanie said...

Wow, a Cardinal sighting, another bird I have never seen up close.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Beautiful shots!

Randy said...

Wonderful color.

Michelle said...

Great close up shots of this handsome fellow.

Gillian Olson said...

Great pictures, this is one handsome bird.

Vores have said...

Beautiful picture series you run. Hanne Bente

Rohrerbot said...

They sometimes do pose:) Lovely shots!

Andrea said...

It is really so brightly colored. I wonder what is its predator in the wild as it is so obvious. However, in butterflies red is a protection from predators, and a mimic tries to get the red to elude the predators. It looks like your bird posed for your camera because you gave seeds.

Anni said...

Absolutely stunning!! One of my all time favorite birds.


Wood Stork

George said...

You got some great photos of the cardinal. They're all excellent.

Francisca said...

I'd say he posed for you! Interesting that this is not at all the shape of the cardinal I know... but what do I know about birds... ha!

Lowell said...

It has been said, not by myself, that you are for the birds. I guess it's true. I can't come within 100 feet of these critters. Why is that?

And I thought most cardinals resided in Rome! I learn something most every day from you.

Lowell said...

It has been said, not by myself, that you are for the birds. I guess it's true. I can't come within 100 feet of these critters. Why is that?

And I thought most cardinals resided in Rome! I learn something most every day from you.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Very nice captures of my state's bird~

Larry said...

Awesome shots of the Northern Cardinal CG! Nice of him to pose for you. Isn't it amazing what different light will do to a photo?

Stewart M said...

I was lucky enough to see some of these birds on one of my few trips to the USA - I really was not prepared for how red they actually are! Very good pictures.

I thought I’d let you know that I stepped into the void caused by Springmans decision to close down World Bird Wednesday by setting up Wild Bird Wednesday (!) on my photoblog.

Feel free to visit and link.

Stewart M

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.