Reviewing my last couple weeks’ photos of winter birds, I realized I have accumulated a collection of cooperative Northern Cardinals – at least the males, the females still being rather shy. And often the pictures were taken in what seemed like the worst conditions – wind blowing so hard I wonder how the bird was staying perched. I can’t resist taking pictures of these bright, cheery fellows, especially this time of year when everything else looks less colorful.
Although I have never seen a group of more than perhaps four or five cardinals at a time, the most common group “name” is a college of cardinals. Since I don’t have a picture of a college, I decided upon collage instead.
Since I have started feeding the crows pretty regularly at Millennium Park, the cardinals have been showing up too. The male above was gutsy enough to get a peanut after much deliberation in the falling snow, a chorus of three crows watching him from above but (surprisingly) not chasing him away.
The wind sometimes makes a mess of crests…
Occasionally, a cardinal will engage the lens, rather than avoid it…
Below, a couple more photos from Crabtree Nature Center, where the cardinals were everpresent…
And my last cardinal looks to me like he’s smiling, on a sunny day.
