• 2014 Mid-Atlantic Big Year List
  • About
  • Birding Hotspots
  • Favorite Bird Photos

Flights of Wonder

~ A year of birding adventures

Flights of Wonder

Tag Archives: Northern Cardinal

“In order to see birds, it is necessary to become part of the silence.” ~Robert Lynd

20 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

American Robin, birding, Birds, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Red-Headed Woodpecker

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 086

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 122

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 124

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 128

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 162

07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 172 07 17 15 Toms Brook VA 178

Northern Cardinal

12 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birding, Birds, Blackwater NWR, Northern Cardinal

01 11 15 Blackwater 148 #2

The Northern Cardinal is actually one of few birds whose population has grown in the last fifty years. They like dense shrubby areas like forest edges, overgrown fields, backyards and regrowing forests. They nest in the dense shrubs and perch from the highest branches to sing their very conspicuous birdie, birdie, birdie whistle song.

Shooting Raw

04 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, Great Blue Heron, Northern Cardinal, Pied-Billed Grebe, South River, White-Throated Sparrow

01 04 15 Woodland Beach 081

In the last week or so, at least six different photographer friends have encouraged me (once again!) to begin shooting my photographs ‘raw’. Now, of course, I didn’t really know what ‘raw’ meant. It turns out that when a digital camera saves a picture in a jpeg format, it has already begun making decisions on processing the photo. In the raw format, the camera records all the image data recorded by the camera sensor. The photographer has to make all of the processing decisions, resulting in greater flexibility.

01 04 15 Woodland Beach 018

Today, the weather was cloudy, drizzly, and dark – lousy conditions for photographing birds. So I decided to stay local, take a drive around my immediate neighborhood, take photographs in the raw format, and ‘develop’ the photos in photoshop. I usually avoid photographing birds on a day like today. The 500mm Sigma lens, in particular, takes very grainy photos in these lighting conditions. So today was a really good day to try out the raw format and see if it made any difference.

01 04 15 Woodland Beach 030

It did make quite a difference, particularly with the photos where there was little, if any, need to crop the photo.

01 04 15 Woodland Beach 057

The photo below, of the Cardinal, would have been a total waste in jpeg, with the grey, cloudy, backlit sky. In the raw format, while still not a great photo, it’s not too bad!

01 04 15 Woodland Beach 084

The bonus to all of this is that there were a variety of birds on this little drive. A little juvenile Pied-Billed Grebe was swimming about in one of the creeks around the neighborhood. All in all, it was a nice way to spend a drizzly Sunday afternoon. And I can’t wait for a sunny day to try the raw format out again!

01 04 15 Woodland Beach 092 #2

Female Cardinal

29 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, Northern Cardinal, Watkins Regional Park

06 25 14 assorted 005

This is the time of year that birds are tending their nests and their young. This female Cardinal was gathering nesting material from the grasses surrounding the visitor’s center at Watkins Park, and then flew into the pine trees to take care of her nest.

Schoolhouse Pond

12 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, Cedar Waxing, Eastern Towhee, Mallard, Northern Cardinal, Northern Shoveler, Schoolhouse Pond

Taken earlier this week, the birds on and around Schoolhouse Pond posed ever so nicely for the camera!

02 09 14 Schoolhouse Pond 020  The Shovelers and the Mallards shared the open water at one end of the pond.

02 09 14 Schoolhouse Pond 033  Canada Geese flew overhead.

02 09 14 Schoolhouse Pond 049  Eastern Towhees foraged in the brush.

02 09 14 Schoolhouse Pond 051  Northern Cardinals found some berries to feed upon.

02 09 14 Schoolhouse Pond 053  Cedar Waxwings perched in a sapling.

02 09 14 Schoolhouse Pond 064  The Mallards displayed their stunning colors.

Best of all, it’s staying light past six o’clock, giving the gift of an hour or so of birding time on the way home from work – another sign of spring!!

Backyard Birding

24 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, Blue Jay, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Though they are getting longer, the days are still too short to do much evening birding. So today, I’ll just show a few backyard birds that have been around for the last few days.

01 22 14 Bay Ridge 021 A Blue Jay eating a piece of corn from the neighbor’s yard.

01 22 14 Bay Ridge 025  A Downy Woodpecker waiting for his turn at the feeder.

01 22 14 Bay Ridge 030  A Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

01 22 14 Bay Ridge 014  A Dark-Eyed Junco.

01 22 14 Bay Ridge 018 A Northern Cardinal taking his fill after the snowstorm.

Redbirds

06 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, Ft. Smallwood State Park, Northern Cardinal

Red bird came all winter

Firing up the landscape

As nothing else could.

~ Mary Oliver

01 05 14 Ft. Smallwood 036

One of my favorite poems is Mary Oliver’s ‘Redbird’. Yesterday morning, a flock of Northern Cardinals was foraging in a thicket of Bittersweet vines at Ft. Smallwood State Park. They truly did light up the landscape.

01 05 14 Ft. Smallwood 025

01 05 14 Ft. Smallwood 022

01 05 14 Ft. Smallwood 019

 

A Quiet Morning at Fishing Creek

14 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

birding, Birds, Fishing Creek Marsh, Great Blue Heron, Northern Cardinal, White-Throated Sparrow

12 14 13 009

The resident Great Blue Herons were all stationed on the pilings along the creek, hunched as if they’d pulled their collars up against the damp cold. All was hushed, and even the resident winter birds – the White-Throated Sparrows and the Cardinals went about their business quietly.

12 14 13 022

12 14 13 013

The Days Are Getting Shorter

04 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

birding, Birds, Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Ruby Crowned Kinglet

I barely get an hour of sunlight in on my evening bird walks after work. They are, however, wonderful hours. This evening I stopped at Watkins Park to see if the Barred Owls were out and about. No luck in that department. There were Wrens everywhere, but they were more heard than seen, foraging low to the forest floor hidden in the foliage that is now turning the color of their chestnut coats. I did get a few pictures in the waning light.

10 04 13 pt 2 001 A Ruby-Crowned Kinglet. Although the lighting is terrible, you can clearly see the adjoining white and black wing bars, and the eye ring that gives this tiny bird a wide-eyed look.

10 04 13 pt 2 005 A Chickadee. Carolina or Black-Capped? I still can’t tell the difference!!

10 04 13 pt 2 015 A female Northern Cardinal, hiding under a thicket of Mountain Laurel.

“A Hangover is the Wrath of Grapes” ~ Author Unknown

24 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by judysbirds in Nature Observations

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, Birds, molting, Northern Cardinal

09 22 13 008

When I was watching the Warblers this past weekend, there was this one Cardinal who kept flying in the periphery of my vision, making it hard to concentrate on the Warblers, almost demanding that I take his picture. I finally conceded. He was the most raggedy looking molting Cardinal I’ve ever seen, seemingly the town drunkard of the Cardinal community.

← Older posts

Bird Photographs

This is when I first started adjusting the lens speed and ISO setting. As a result, the Little Blue Heron just seemed to jump from the marsh grass.
This is when I first started adjusting the lens speed and ISO setting. As a result, the Little Blue Heron just seemed to jump from the marsh grass.
Song Sparrow in a tangle of Bittersweet
Song Sparrow in a tangle of Bittersweet
Lady Bufflehead
Lady Bufflehead
Male Longtail
Male Longtail
Baby Great Horned Owl
Baby Great Horned Owl
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Great & Snowy Egret
Great & Snowy Egret
Juvenile Eastern Bluebird
Juvenile Eastern Bluebird
Magnolia Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson’s Snipe
Just love those Prothonotary Warblers.
Just love those Prothonotary Warblers.
American Bittern
American Bittern
This White Ibis close-up showed such detail.
This White Ibis close-up showed such detail.
Northern Cardinal in the winter
Northern Cardinal in the winter
12 30 14 Kinder Farm Park 297 #2
Fledgling Wood Thrush
Fledgling Wood Thrush
Green Heron.
Green Heron.
Short-Eared Owl
Short-Eared Owl
Grasshopper Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Summer Tanager, Female
Summer Tanager, Female
It was SO cold this day. The Hermit Thrush fluffed his feathers as much as he could to stay warm.
It was SO cold this day. The Hermit Thrush fluffed his feathers as much as he could to stay warm.
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl
Snow Bunting
Snow Bunting
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
Sharp-Shinned Hawk
White-Eyed Vireo
White-Eyed Vireo
Female Northern Cardinal
Female Northern Cardinal
Piping Plover
Piping Plover
Ovenbird
Ovenbird
Rough-Winged Swallow
Rough-Winged Swallow
05 03 15 Davidsonville Park 016
I love the way the fence curves around the Red-Headed Woodpecker.
I love the way the fence curves around the Red-Headed Woodpecker.
Palm Warbler, Fall Plumage
Palm Warbler, Fall Plumage
Common Loon
Common Loon
Merlin
Merlin
Dark-Eyed Junco
Dark-Eyed Junco
It's not a great photo, but it's such a great bird!
It’s not a great photo, but it’s such a great bird!
11 28 13 Davidsonville Park 019
Black Skimmer
Black Skimmer
Wood Thrush
Wood Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
Forster's Tern
Forster’s Tern
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Bald Eagle at sunset
Bald Eagle at sunset
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
Longtail Duck
Longtail Duck
Red-Tailed Hawk feeding on a raccoon.
Red-Tailed Hawk feeding on a raccoon.
Snow Geese
Snow Geese
Goldfinch and Sunflowers
Goldfinch and Sunflowers
06 28 15 110
Male Harlequin with two females and two female Longtails.
Male Harlequin with two females and two female Longtails.
Wood Thrush
Wood Thrush
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Black-Throated Green Warbler
Black-Throated Green Warbler
07 06 15 Bombay 060
Juvenile Black-Necked Stilts
Juvenile Black-Necked Stilts
Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Red-Winged Blackbird, Female
Red-Winged Blackbird, Female
Snowy Egret
Snowy Egret
Short-Billed Dowitcher
Short-Billed Dowitcher
Common Grackle
Common Grackle
This Prothonotary Warbler photo just seems well composed to me, plus I just love these beautiful little birds.
This Prothonotary Warbler photo just seems well composed to me, plus I just love these beautiful little birds.
American Oystercatchers
American Oystercatchers
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Red-Headed Woodpecker
This Cooper's Hawk was so hungry. He just wouldn't leave his dinner for anything!
This Cooper’s Hawk was so hungry. He just wouldn’t leave his dinner for anything!
Clapper Rail
Clapper Rail
Redhead Duck
Redhead Duck
Sanderling
Sanderling
Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe
07 11 15 Osprey 056
Marsh Wren
Marsh Wren
Juvenile White Ibis
Juvenile White Ibis
Baby Red-Shouldered Hawk
Baby Red-Shouldered Hawk
Juvenile Cooper's Hawk
Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk
And the Yellow Warblers are pretty stunning, too.
And the Yellow Warblers are pretty stunning, too.
05 03 15 Davidsonville Park 040
04 19 15 Great Horned Owlet 061
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Tree Swallows
Tree Swallows
Surf Scoter
Surf Scoter
Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
07 17 15 Hummingbird 216
Avocets in Flight
Avocets in Flight
Brant Goose
Brant Goose
Virginia Rail
Virginia Rail
I love the details on these Snow Geese.
I love the details on these Snow Geese.
Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Female Orchard Oriole
Female Orchard Oriole
Juvenile Indigo Bunting
Juvenile Indigo Bunting

Calendar of Posts

April 2018
M T W T F S S
« Aug    
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 152 other followers

Pages

  • 2014 Mid-Atlantic Big Year List
  • About
  • Birding Hotspots
  • Favorite Bird Photos

Previous Posts

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel