This year, there seems to be
an abundance of Cardinals in my yard, something that I am not complaining about at all! From afar they all kind of look alike but up close, their individuality becomes more obvious. I believe these are all different birds. So similar but also so different.
The King and Queen of the Yard
were having some fun trying out new “couple photo” ideas. I love this female’s eyebrows so much!
The Cardinal
is a bit of a special bird to me, maybe one could call it my “spark bird”, the one that started my interest in birdwatching. My native German eyes were stunned to see the first one, it almost seemed unbelievable to me that it was a wild bird. They have remained one of my favorites, and snowy days bring lots of them. I have seen up to eight individuals recently, and I am delighted that some have started to come to the cams. It’s two different females and a male here. One of the girls has spectacular red accents.
Happy Valentines Day!
Nature seems to slowly wake up from its wintery slumber, and the birds are starting to sing more. I hope you have a great day, the best time of the year is not that far away!
The Cardis
are getting more used to the camera feeders now, which is lovely and also why you get another load of these beauties today. These two individuals here are particularly cool to look at. The male is a young one, still showing some specks of brown, also in the beak. Their beaks only turn all red when they are one year old. You can also see his beak damage a little better. The female has beautiful red sprinkles all over her. I can never really decide which of the two I like better. They are both so stunning.
And since it is Thursday,
here is another bird from the 2022 Ostdrossel calendar. The month of February is represented by Queen Red Eyebrow, a female Cardinal. I love this photo because it is so dramatic and wintery. In the back behind her head you can see a Blue Jay.
I occasionally get asked about prints of my photos. Generally I am not a big fan of selling prints, because not all photos will look good printed in every size or for every purpose and I want to avoid disappointment. However, all the photos in my calendar could probably be framed too. I have the large one here with me, and I can tell you they look great. You can get the calendar here: https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/ostdrossel
It rained cats and dogs today,
and overall it was a weird day. I saw two Orioles, and heard them singing all day, which was awesome. They have a very distinctive song. You might have heard it on the livestream too. I was also distracted by the Bluebird babies. Two were left in the box this morning, I took time to watch, nothing happened. Then I did some gardening towards the evening, and of course during that, one of them fledged. Now I was in position to watch the other one with my big lens… And nothing. That baby is spending the night in the box. But while I was watching, I saw a Hummingbird :D (Pictured wet mops: Blue Jay, Cardi lady, Oriole, Grackle) With this new set of birds, I am changing up my setups a bit, and things still have to settle in. It always is a bit like a game to capture all the new arrivals, and this is one of the most enjoyable times of the year for me.
A very interesting
spring day today. It rained a lot, I tried to keep an eye on the yard out for Orioles and Hummingbirds while also trying to focus on work because they seemingly had rained down onto Michigan today, but nope. None. I did see the first Rose-breasted Grosbeak though! A beautiful male quickly stopped by. The regulars seemed irritated by the new offering. Tomorrow might be the day, there is less rain in the forecast but temperatures are still not pleasant. (Titmouse, Robin, Cardi lady and House Finch)
Round is the word of the day,
for one because we are experiencing what is hopefully the last frost and for two because it’s Earth Day! The weather might not be good for gardening everywhere yet but this time is perfect to get a little garden planning on. There are lots of possibilities to make your garden more inviting for birds, also some that might not come to a feeder. Native flowers and berry bushes and trees can help creating more habitat for the wildlife around us. Stay warm! (MoDo, Grackle, Robin and Cardinal)
The backyard is starting
to brim with fertility, and love is buzzing all over the place. I saw Grackles mating, Robins collecting nesting material by the bath, and the Cardinals were totally hamming it up today. There is just something so pure and adorable about a Cardi man feeding his lady to woo her. I have seen it several times today, and I am so happy that they even took it to the camera. I hope their nest, wherever it is, is safe and sound, and they will have some babies this year. Come good into Saturday!
Video: A romantic moment
for the Cardinals this morning - borbed! I loved the light on the Queen. Female Cardinals are such pretty birds.
Everybody seems to feel
a bit like spring these days! Just from experience, I am always a bit hesitant to call it in but there are little signs all over. This Cardi lady with beautiful eyebrows has started to show up at the cameras, and today, a male joined her! The sounds in the yard have changed too, and I think spring is really seriously on the way. Spring is my favorite season, so I am always excited to experience it, but this year, somehow I am even more impatient.
One would think
that there aren’t many differences in the looks of individual female Cardinals, but there are! Here is one I like to call Queen Red Eyebrow because of her exquisite red markings. We also had sun today, which was nice for a change. Come good into Sunday!
The Royals
came out to show off in the sun today. I have several Cardi couples around, and recently, this female has started coming to the Birdsy cam in the early mornings and evenings. I was happy to finally see her on the photo cam today. It is not the original Queen Red Eyebrow, but she has some pretty strong markings too. The male always either comes shortly before or after her.
The royal couple
does not mind the rain much, and I think it might have to do with them being probably better camouflaged than in any other season right now. I love all her blush around the face and crest, and the King always looks gorgeous with a little rain on him anyways. Have a wonderful weekend!
The Coneheads
Titmouse, Blue Jay and female Cardi were on high alert and on top of their hair game.
This is not a super photo,
but here is momma Cardi with her youngster in the back. I have been trying to get the youngsters to the camera but they are so skittish, so this is the most I was able to get so far. I am not giving up yet.
Madame Queen Red Eyebrow
Even ruffled, she is a beauty. I love it that the Cardinals have started to come back a bit more. They have been mostly camera shy all summer.