HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We hope this is the beginning of a great, happy, and healthy year for you.
A Cardinal's Courtship
Have you ever seen the courting between two Cardinals? We have been honored and entertained with watching two bachelors trying to court/impress Miss Available Cardinal.
Meet Bachelor #1: a handsome fellow. We are not sure if he wants to impress the Miss or eat. He seems a little shy and flies away when Bachelor #2 lands in the same tree.
Meet Bachelor #2: a very serious looking fellow with courtship on his mind.
He looks like he means business, doesn't he?
And here is the lovely little lady - Miss Cardinal. She's a beauty, heh?
Here she is letting the sun filter through her head feathers giving her such a healthy glow.
I wasn't having much luck with getting the actual courtship dancing. It is quite a sight to see. If you happen to catch the Seinfeld episode where Elaine dances...that's what a male's courtship dance looks like - a disjointed, knee-jerking, very spastic, and "Totally Uncool Dude!" movements. I did catch a few shots of them leaping from limb to limb...
Unimpressed, Miss Cardinal decided to get a snack and come back to see if the show was getting any better.
How about levitation?
I wonder...can birds yawn? Doesn't she look a little bored? Actually, I think she is eyeing the feeder. "Hmm, I wonder if there is time for another snack...."
Well, no decision made today. Miss Cardinal flew away and soon Bachelor #2 followed after her.
Will Miss Cardinal choose one of these fine feathered males or is there a third one lurking out there? Oh, I hate cliff-hangers!
