I spent a wonderful St. Patrick's Day afternoon sitting on the patio watching the squirrels enjoying their sunflower seeds and the birds flitting from feeder to feeder. During that time, I observed something that I have never actually witnessed before - four male cardinals aggressively attacking each other, defending their territory. One would not be at a feeder long before another one would swoop down in attack mode and fly off behind it to continue the brawl in another area of the yard. Quite amazing! I didn't think I would get a shot of a male cardinal today because of all the crazy activity, so I consider this my lucky St. Patrick's Day shot.
Great shot with wonderful detail - love those feet. Must have been a lot of fun to watch their interactions - haven't seen cardinals be that aggressive - good at running each other off at times but more just by appearing and the other leaves.
Sounds like you had an amazing afternoon show. Wonderful shot, love the colour and details in the feather. Lucky maybe, I think there was definitely some skill involved :)
@helenhall Thanks for your comment, Helen! I read that the male cardinal fiercely defends its breeding territory from other males . . . their breeding season must be starting.
@milaniet Thank you for commenting, Milanie! They were quite aggressive today, flying after each other and then attacking each other. I googled it and as I mentioned in Helen's response, the males fiercely defend their breeding territory from other males. It was quite interesting to read about their mating and nesting habits. :-)
@woodlandsphotog Thank you for commenting, Richard! It was a perfect day to be outdoors and the cardinals kept me entertained for hours. It was somewhat amusing . . . the squirrels and all the other birds just went about their business as if they didn't even notice the rowdy cardinals. :-)
@kategoring Thank you so much for your comment, Kate! Yes, it was definitely a fun afternoon show! They rarely fly under the patio covering but today they did, they were chasing each other all over the place. :-)
Love the colour and detail on the cardinal, also your comp, dof and bokeh, fav. His crest is rampant, which I think means he is excited ad ready for action!
What a terrific image, and clearly you've been enjoying the feeder (and all the goings on} immensely! It's quite remarkable what you see and learn when you sit still and watch. Even better as the animals and birds come to know and trust your presence. It's as though we've been invited into their world and life experiences!
March 21st, 2016
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