Swinging Bird

It is so delightful to see the world through youngsters’ eyes. It’s fun to watch them make discoveries, solve problems, come up with new ideas. Kaison, 11, has been making videos of himself doing crazy dances he choreographed. I was actually more impressed with his photography than with the dance moves, though they were certainly interesting. It was hilarious to hear him laughing at himself.

But Kaison’s picture of a swinging cardinal is, to me, his best picture. Usually, it takes a lot of patience to achieve a picture like that, even as fuzzy as the image is. Any movement at the window spooks the bird and away he flies. I was really proud of Kaison’s expertise, whether patience or good luck, when he sent me this attachment.

I’ve always been cheered and inspired by bright, beautiful cardinals, as everyone is, I think. After Kaison sent his picture of the swinging bird, I thought I’d look up some facts about cardinals. I found some pretty interesting nuggets of information.

Cardinals are year-round residents wherever they live, They can be spotted throughout eastern U.S. and Midwest, into western Texas and southern Arizona. Unlike some of our other favorite feathered friends, cardinals are with us in all seasons. The bird originally had only a southern habitat but in early 1900’s began migrating north, partly because of bird watchers and their generous feeders. Now the cardinal (a.k.a. Northern Cardinal, red bird, Crested Red-bird, Topknot Redbird, and more) is the state bird for seven states, and the mascot for innumerable sports teams. The cardinal was named Northern Cardinal in 1983 to differentiate it from southern birds known as Yellow Cardinals. I’d love to see one of those!

The name cardinal is, of course inspired by the bright crimson robes and caps worn by cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. But did you know that a group of Northern Cardinals can be referred to as a college, conclave, or Vatican?

Everyone has a bad hair day sometimes. But every year the cardinals have a bad hair season. They have to replace worn-out feathers for new ones and it takes a while. That’s why you may look out in September and see a pitiful, bald and bedraggled cardinal.

More than once I’ve experienced a cardinal pecking persistently on our windows, even trying every window over and over again. The reason? The males are very jealous for their territory and can’t bear another male looking at their sweetheart. So if one spies his reflection in a window or a car mirror he’s convinced it’s an interloper that has to be scared away.

That cheer-cheer-cheer song you hear can be from male or female cardinals. The female even sings while sitting on her nest. One song, it is thought, is to warn the male that trouble may be near and he’d better keep his bright plumage far away from her hatching eggs.

There may be more pictures made of cardinals than of any other bird. But this one by Kaison is a masterpiece to his nana.

We could say, changing the proverb slightly, “Keep a green bough in your heart and the swinging bird will come.”