Northern Cardinal


There is a cardinal nest right outside my kitchen door in the burning bush. Usually these birds don't nest so close to the house. They nest in the evergreens along the driveway.

But the overgrown field next door is being cleared for pasture and there is too much activity there, so I suppose the burning bush was the next best thing. It's also close to the crabapple tree where the male can keep a close eye on things. I snapped a photo of him this morning. 

The female is incubating the eggs and the male brings her food from time to time. He does not fly directly to the nest as that might attract too much attention with his bright red coat. Instead, he flies to a branch well below the nest and surreptitiously hops from one branch to the next until he is out of sight completely and at the nest which is hidden in the upper dense foliage.

He's so pretty, perhaps I'll do a painting of him, the female and the nest. Idea?

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