Now that I’ve been home for a few weeks, I’ve been enjoying photographing my backyard birds. I find it relaxing as well as rewarding. Red and Mrs. stop by several times every day. I think I have another male cardinal, too. At first I thought it was Red, but this guy is a little chunkier and has a dark gray spot on his beak.
How can I be sure if there’s another male, because Red and the other guy are never in the backyard at the same time. Last spring, I saw two red Cardinals chasing each other, flying at full speed over our house. That’s the only time I saw two males together.
This one is definitely Red. See there’s not a gray mark on his beak. The photo below is the imposter Red. Or, it might be Red with a bruised beak. My first few days home, I took photos of this guy, thinking it was my Red.
Here’s Mrs. on a planter at the edge of our fence.
I was pleasantly surprised with this finch photo because of the sharp detail on the barrel cactus.
The birds love their perch on a flamingo.
Here’s a view looking out the casita window with my telephoto lens set at 80mm instead of 400mm I use for closeups of critters.
I haven’t seen the cardinal with the gray spot on his beak lately. So that brings the questions of the day:
Do you think I had an imposter Red? Or, did Red bruise his beak and now it’s healed?
What’s your opinion and why?
JoyRoses13 from Nuggets of Gold wrote a fun story on her blog using my photos and another photographer’s. You can read it HERE.
You know I adore your photos of birds on that flamingo. Make me smile every time.
It makes me happy that you enjoy my photos. Whenever I see a bird on a flamingo, I’m trying to capture the photo.
Your photos are so crisp and sharp in detail EA! I vote for not Red but a new male in the mix. I even see a difference in the shape of the black feathers that surround the beak on that new guy and his head tuft is a bit off as well. Red just looks gorgeous, this new guy looks like the no nonsense gangster trying to take over new territory! 🙂
I think you are correct. I’m surprised I didn’t catch it right away. I was so hopeful to see Red when we came back from vacation that I didn’t see the difference. The new guy does look like a gangster or bully!
Yes, he’s a bit “rough” around the edges I think 😉
I agree! He probably has been punched in the beak a few times!
Wonderful photos! Love the birds on the flamingos. May be inspiring a story. Stay tuned. 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoy my photos! I hope I gave you a bit of inspiration. I’m mulling around some story ideas with my photos, too. It may be a project for my photography class.
You did inspire me, thanks! I just posted the story. Hope you like it!
I’ll check it out now!
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beautiful picture 👍
Thank you! I’m working on improving my photography skills.
lovely photographs. All I see outside is magpies and a very round, very hungry wood pigeon heh.
Thanks! We have a bunch of doves who are basically pigeons. There are more of them than any other birds.
Oh, the intrigue. The Mrs. decides she’s tired with Red’s shenanigans and decides to play the field. Oh, my goodness, you’ve got an amazing wildlife documentary right in your backyard. Now you have to follow this through. Your readers and your photo class need to know who leaves and who stays. Ha, ha, too funny.
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the developing story. I’ve been thinking of making a picture book out of my Red and Mrs. photos. We’ve now left the children’s fiction genre with the introduction of this new character! 😅
Yes, this new character definitely takes the story into a new direction. Red’s going to lose the Mrs if he doesn’t watch out! 🤭🫣🫣😬😎
No! Say it isn’t so!
What great photos! I think it’s Red’s imposter, and Deb’s description is just perfect. He looks like a more of a troublemaker. 😂
Thank you for the comment about my photos. I think you and Deb are both correct that this is a troublemaker entering our yard.
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I think 🤔 the darker beaked Red could be a younger Mr? Maybe looking for his own new garden?
He’s bigger than Red. But you could be correct because the beaks start off darker when they are young.
Beautiful birds! Nice photo work
Thanks!
How interesting! And amazing photos, Elizabeth!
I think Red’s hair sticks up straighter. Or maybe that’s the look right after the storm?? 🙂
Thanks for the nice comment on my photos. The cardinals can raise and lower their crests. So it depends on when I capture their picture on who has a taller crest. I had taken lots of pictures of this new bird, but didn’t realize the differences until I went through them side by side.
I wish I had bird wisdom to impart….id say different bird because I don’t know how beaks get damaged, but I’m not sure
I looked the beak gray thing up. It says it can be a disease or damage. Otherwise it’s a younger bird because the gray spots leave as they get older. I’m with you, it’s most likely a different bird. They really don’t look much alike except for color.
Interesting to learn all this
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It looks like a different bird to me.
It does to me when I go through the photos. When I’m looking with my eyes, I can’t see it. It’s the zoom lens that shows the truth.
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