I have rarely seen a cardinal. Several years ago I was in Missouri and saw so many. There they are as plentiful as the sparrows are here. But around here I think I have only seen one cardinal. So early this fall when I received a young cardinal it was very exciting. He was found in a parking lot and was unable to fly. There were no injuries or broken bones but his feathers were a little "scruffy" looking. I took him home and put him in a small cage where I could keep an eye on him. He ate alot, was very active and alert and before long he was strong enough to move to a larger cage outside. He was very popular with the other small birds that come to the backyard to eat. Sparrows, nuthatches and chickadees would visit him daily. He grew stronger as the days went by and eventually was flying all over in his big cage. There was no need to keep him any longer. I was going to take him to my sister's place in eastern S.D. since she has cardinals there every winter. Then I thought, "Why not just release him here where he knows there's plenty of food, water and shelter if he needs it?" So that's what I did one nice sunny day. That was about a month ago and he has been here ever since. He still enters his cage to eat and brings along several friends to share with. It's not unusual to see him in his cage eating side-by-side with the sparrows and the chickadees and nuthatches. He is very easy to spot among the browns and grays of the other small birds he hangs out with. His bright red stands out especially well now that it has snowed. He is very easily startled which makes it hard to photograph him. None of the other little birds seem to notice or care that he is different from them. And he doesn't seem to be bothered by the differences either. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here.Thursday, December 6, 2007
Winter Cardinal
I have rarely seen a cardinal. Several years ago I was in Missouri and saw so many. There they are as plentiful as the sparrows are here. But around here I think I have only seen one cardinal. So early this fall when I received a young cardinal it was very exciting. He was found in a parking lot and was unable to fly. There were no injuries or broken bones but his feathers were a little "scruffy" looking. I took him home and put him in a small cage where I could keep an eye on him. He ate alot, was very active and alert and before long he was strong enough to move to a larger cage outside. He was very popular with the other small birds that come to the backyard to eat. Sparrows, nuthatches and chickadees would visit him daily. He grew stronger as the days went by and eventually was flying all over in his big cage. There was no need to keep him any longer. I was going to take him to my sister's place in eastern S.D. since she has cardinals there every winter. Then I thought, "Why not just release him here where he knows there's plenty of food, water and shelter if he needs it?" So that's what I did one nice sunny day. That was about a month ago and he has been here ever since. He still enters his cage to eat and brings along several friends to share with. It's not unusual to see him in his cage eating side-by-side with the sparrows and the chickadees and nuthatches. He is very easy to spot among the browns and grays of the other small birds he hangs out with. His bright red stands out especially well now that it has snowed. He is very easily startled which makes it hard to photograph him. None of the other little birds seem to notice or care that he is different from them. And he doesn't seem to be bothered by the differences either. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here.