Who's the boss here?This bedraggled male Northern Cardinal is the
same bird who calls at my kitchen window in the morning begging for peanuts. He is molting and has lost his elegant crest for the time being. He and his Missus brought their noisy youngsters to our deck last evening to feast on sunflower seeds. (As usual, they came at dusk when the light was poor for pictures.) The parents worked diligently breaking open seeds and placing the kernels in the young birds' beaks. It seemed to me that the youngsters were larger and more finely feathered than their parents. No wonder the adult cardinals come so readily for an easy meal at our window. It is a brief respite from the busy work of parenthood.
Who's the boss here?
I've never seen a Cardinal molting before. Does look a little ragged. Maybe the youngster should be feeding Dad. ;)
ReplyDeleteYou are doing a good job making sure that the parents are well feed. Motherhood never stops in any world. What great evening entertainment you have watching nature unfold.
ReplyDeleteI am still seeing baby Cardinals being fed too and it always amazes me how big and yet needy they are. :c)
ReplyDeleteOur birds are looking tired and ragged as well. It's been a hard summer for them. Nice photographs.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh--I saw your blog title and thought--Huh? Grown kids running YOU ragged.
ReplyDeleteVery clever.
I have seen more pics of molting cardinals than ever before. I have not seen such a bird here, though we have a respectable number of cardinals.
I guess we're not the only ones who put our kids' welfare first :)
ReplyDeleteHe does look rather bedraggled. Bird parents work hard.
ReplyDelete