He’s still looking gnarly with his late summer molting, but his crest is coming back.
Red can be seen most days feeding his adopted Cowbird. If you missed the post about Cowbirds, I wrote about them HERE.
I haven’t seen Mrs. for a few weeks. Although there was a very young female Cardinal who stopped by. Maybe Red is in charge of all the children, legitimate or not?
Red’s current look makes me miss the days of old when Red was the most handsome bird in our desert.
Happy Friday! What are your plans for the weekend?
Finally Red was hanging out long enough for me to get some photos of him. While I’m healing and recovering from surgery, Red was the sight I needed to make my day!
More photos of Red:
We put together the shepherd’s hook to hang the new Bird Buddy feeder. But it wasn’t working right. There was something definitely wrong.
Mrs. waiting for her turn in the new Bird Buddy.
I don’t know why the shepherd’s hook placed the feeder mere inches from the ground. It was low enough for a squirrel to jump on the roof. I was afraid he was going to get stuck inside with the camera. He’s definitely not very bright. All he needed to do was turn around and jump into the tray of seeds.
I hung the feeder on this massage tool which securely hooked around a branch of the tree. But before I could hang the feeder, Mrs. hopped on it to try it out. It worked out well to have the feeder there, but we may want to use the massage tool to get the knots out of our backs!
Voilà! I looked at the instructions for the shepherd’s hook and realized my helpful husband installed the hardware that attaches to the fence upside down.
Mrs. finally got her turn in the Bird Buddy. This movie was taken when the bird feeder was low to the ground.
I didn’t like this placement of the camera because the sun causes too much glare.
Do you have a favorite Red photo?
Do you think there’s any upside to letting my husband know he messed up on the shepherd’s hook? Or do I let him notice on his own that it’s in a new position?
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.
Here are a few of the best photos I got of Red this week, plus two of Mrs. I’m going to miss my backyard birds, especially my cardinal couple and quail. I have hired my former cat sitter to watch over the house and most importantly feed the birds! Hopefully, Red and Mrs. won’t abandon me while we travel.
Here are my favorite photos of the week:
Red perching on our beavertail cactus art.
Mrs. enjoying some bird seed.
Red on the fence. I liked how the morning light was shining through his crest.
I don’t get that many photos of Red with a front on angle.
Mrs. was dining on sunflower seeds at my Birdbuddy AI bird feeder over the weekend. I abandoned my Birdbuddy because of my injury until this weekend. It was one more thing I didn’t want to ask my husband to do — charge the camera and fill the feeder with seeds. It waited until I could handle it myself.
My physical therapist told me to come in my tennis shoes for my next appointment, which was last Thursday — and to leave the boot at home. It was the first time I’ve been in tennis shoes since I fell wearing them!
I was more than a little nervous at the prospect of walking into my appointment without my boot. I survived the experience and my husband and I celebrated with tacos afterwards.
I’m reflecting on how far I’ve come in six weeks since surgery.
Never did I think taking a shower without help would be a luxury. It is. At first, I wasn’t allowed to shower and the nurses in the surgery center told me to take “bird baths” at the sink. After a week or two using the sink and splashing water all over the bathroom, my baby step was to take a shower with a plastic sleeve and saran wrap around my leg. My husband had to encase my leg in plastic and help me in and out of the shower. I also had to get in and out of the shower wearing that blasted boot!
This morning I filled the Birdbuddy and the bird bath. I also washed the casita window after a major rainstorm so I can sit and take clear photos! Woohoo! Who knew I be so thrilled to do household chores.
Baby steps, but I’m making progress! Sometime next week, I’m looking forward to hosing off the patio, pool bar and outdoor furniture. I also hope to get in the pool — hopefully at the end of this week after I see my surgeon.
It reminds me of the old saying, “This too shall pass.” Also, I’m thankful for what I have and my health!
What experience have you had that you began with baby steps?
I’m watching birds early in the morning while sitting outside writing my morning pages. Then I pick up my camera while sitting at a table inside. I’ve seen three separate families of quail. They are small families with the largest having four babies, then another with two and the final family has mom, dad and one baby.
House finch on a young saguaro.
A Harris Hawk stopped by and the little birds flew away.
Mrs. arrived for a snack. A House Finch tried to intimidate her, but she stood her ground.
I hope you enjoyed my photos that I took over the weekend. Happy Father’s Day to everyone and have a great week!
One of my blogging friends, from Brilliant Viewpoint, suggested that I put water out for my backyard birds. I told her that the doves like to get on the pool float and drink water. I said I’d post a photo, so here it is! FYI, I also ordered a bird bath from Amazon, but so far no birds have used it.
I was distressed the other day because it was a rare day that I didn’t see Red at all. He made an appearance the next day. Talk about relief! However, he didn’t stick around like he usually does and I didn’t see Mrs.
I read about cardinals and their mating and nesting times. I believe they have a nest in a Teddy Bear cactus (cholla) in the wash behind our house. I’ve seen them fly in and out. It’s a very protected space with the prickly plant offering a barrier to predators.
It’s the right time of year for Red and Mrs. to have babies. They start building their nest as early as January and start nesting and laying eggs as early as April and as late as August. June seems ideal. The female builds the nest, lays the eggs and incubates them. The male forages for food. Part of the mating ritual is the male feeds the female. I’ve seen a lot of that lately. Red looks like he’s kissing Mrs. but he’s giving her a nice sunflower seed — one of their favorites.
Red feeding the Mrs.
Here’s a cholla in the neighborhood that has a nest tucked away inside it. You can see how protected the nest would be. You can’t see the nest, unless you’re in person, looking closeup.
Other interesting things I learned about Cardinals: They mate for life. The female lays from one to five eggs, usually three. She may lay eggs three times a year. Also, the male feeds her and the babies up until two weeks after they leave the nest. The males sing or chirp loudly to define their territory and to ward off other cardinals.
Yes, I think I’m not seeing much of Red and Mrs. because they are starting a family.
Here’s a video of Red and Mrs. You can see Red feeding Mrs. a sunflower!
Here’s to week two post surgery with a post op appointment on Friday!
