Posts Tagged "Northern Cardinal"

Male Northern Cardinal

Posted by Pat Stewart on Feb 17, 2013 in Portfolio, Slider | 0 comments

Some Days Chickens, Some Days Feathers!

Posted by Pat Stewart on May 23, 2012 in Backyard Birds, My Blog | 2 comments

As a child, I never asked my daddy exactly what he meant when he would exclaim, “Some days chickens, some days feathers!”  I had my own interpretation.  I figured it meant when one is chasing a chicken, you might catch the chicken, if you’re lucky, or you just might grab a bunch of feathers and that’s it.  Sort of an “Oh, well…”   I grew up in the city, but our next door neighbor had a housekeeper/cook who all the neighborhood kids liked to watch her S-T-R-E-T-C-H a chicken’s neck out across a tree stump and whack it’s head off!  Then, of course, came the fun part of watching the headless chicken run around the yard until it dropped over…dead.  I watched with enjoyment then, but today…I absolutely could not watch it all happen today.  :-0 But this post is not about chopping a chicken’s head off.  It’s about how some days are better than others, some periods in our lives are easier than others and how when we walk in faith, we have the assurance that “This too shall pass.”  Whether our struggle is getting through a life-threatening diagnosis, dealing with a long drawn out illness, raising a young family through YEARS of unemployment or searching for the purpose in one’s life, we DO know that our Creator is with us through it all and will guide us out of the wilderness. When I captured this photo of this young male cardinal this morning, I have to admit I said to myself, “Bless his heart!”  He does, indeed, look so pitiful with his young little feathers piercing through his dark gray skin looking like a new hairstyle gone very bad!  But, just as soon as I had those thoughts, my thoughts jumped to the brilliantly handsome look he will have in just a couple of months…as God finishes his daily attire that brings so much color and life to our world. So for him TODAY I say, “Some days chickens, some days feathers…just a lot more feathers for...

Northern Cardinal State Bird

Posted by Pat Stewart on Apr 14, 2012 in Backyard Birds, My Blog | 0 comments

The Northern Cardinal is no doubt one of the most popular birds…among those that are selected as State Bird in the USA.  The Northern Cardinal is State Bird for seven states:  Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.  So what makes this bird one of our favorites?  Is it the flashing red color of the male?  Perhaps, it’s because we love to hear them sing their melodious songs to one another?  Or maybe it’s because the paler female has a beauty all her own.  My guess is that it’s all of these that form the crowd around the voting table for one’s favorite backyard bird. I like watching a male sit and watch for his mate to come hither after hearing his little click-click-click sound.  Usually, I see him doing this when he is near my feeder.  It isn’t too long before she comes flying in beckoning his call.  When the cardinals are courting, it’s quite entertaining to watch.  She sits in the tree near the feeder but not approaching it. She slightly flutters her wings a little.  He gets the seed and comes to sit right next to her, cracks it open and gets it just right for her and then feeds her…over and over.  It is believed that she is testing him out to see how well he would “provide for the family.”  He also is quite protective of his intended mate and if another male comes nearby, he takes care of that situation immediately.  One day I actually watched one male chase another male around the big holly tree numerous times before the 2nd hopeful suitor finally gave up. Quite entertaining. Remember to fill your...