Oh How The Red Pops!

Boy -

Girl -

Boy girl -

Very Conspicuous, Yeah

He sure sticks out like a sore thumb, especially during the winter when there's no bright colors to be found.

Break Time

The weather has been so mild for this time of year.

The critters certainly seem to be enjoying it.

This pair of Cardinals were taking a break from foraging to soak up some sun.

Birds Of Color

Although the bird feeder has been empty for a couple weeks now, the birds are still a visiting.  Looks like they're go to food when all else is scarce is the Bittersweet.  

Here's an American Robin among the Bittersweet -

Here's a "daddy" Cardinal -

And my favorite, a Bluebird - 

I've since shoveled a path to the bird feeders and filled with sunflower seeds.  They're much happier now and many many more are visiting.

Greeting Card Perhaps

Male Cardinals typically standout anyway.  Add some freshly fallen snow to a green White Pine background and BAM you got yourself a Hallmark type card.

As you can see the female Cardinal stays close to the male, usually does.

Crow Massacre of 2014

This time of year there is very little color outside.  It's drab and dull and blah, so it was easy to spot the black and red colors of the above attach.

The cardinal didn't have a chance.  By the time I noticed what was taking place the attach was over and the crows were all fighting for the spoils.  There were at least six crows all wanting a piece of the cardinal carcass.  The crow in the third picture got a hold of it and off he flew, however, the others were not far behind.

Would have preferred to have the crows take out a House Sparrow or Starling, you know an unattractive, nuisance type bird, instead of a daddy cardinal, alas.

Chilly Birdies

Baby it's cold outside!

I'm Seeing Red...

The Cardinals are out and about this morning!

They don't appear to be bothered by the single digit temperatures at all.

They hang at a distance patiently waiting. Then they swoop in to the bird feeders and grab some vittles.

Here is a very cool picture of one "swooping" in!

Lady in Red

 

Check out this lovely female cardinal perched in our peach tree.

 

She blends in nicely too with the colors of the peach tree branches.

 

Spring is in the air here in Franklin, as you can see the buds are bursting-at-the seems to come out.

Boy Girl

 

Here is a male and female Cardinal that are regular visitors to our feeders this winter.

I'm Seeing Red!

 

Cardinal red that is!

 

This dude was content to sit in that one spot for close to 30 minutes.

 

It was Thanksgiving morning, so perhaps he was waiting for the food to be served or the spanking that the New England Patriots handed to the lowly New York Jets.

Name the Bird - Revealed

The time has come to reveal the answer to the much anticipated, first ever, 'Name the' contest (excluding the 'Name the Poop' contest, which was a beta release and complete shit). Before I do take a look at this most recent picture. Perhaps you can tell now, hmmm?! Hint, think color.



It's holds the record for popularity as the official state bird for 7 US states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.

A professional baseball team is named after this bird. There are only 3 teams in MLB named after a bird: (2) in the American League and (1) in the National League. The team this bird is named after is in the National league.

The Roman Catholic Archidocese of Boston, Seán Patrick O'Malley, is one.

Also, the number of elements in a mathematical set, which denotes a quantity but not the order.

Here is the female watching over the nest and posing for the picture.

Here is the male standing guard, also posing for the picture.

Surely you now must know this stunning bird!

Update: We're guessing one is a male and one is a female based on their coloring. The little red dude, who appeared to be bolder and more animated, took flight yesterday morning - off he went. Boy did that cause a ruckus. The parents went into protect mode immediately. They were very vocal and stayed right with him watching over him. We're not sure where he is today and hope he's fine. The mother was back on the nest last night keeping the remaining chick warm, as the temperature dropped quite a bit last night and is still that way now.

A Daddy Cardinal

It's been awfully cold here in New England these last couple of months. Today, with the wind chill, we're looking at -10 in Boston with a high only in the single digits.

When it's that cold there's not much to do and has an effect of everyone.

Here is a picture of a cold, lonely cardinal trying to keep warm in the sunlight and waiting for a turn at the bird feeders.

Come on Spring time...