Cardinal Valentines

[yourlibrarian]

We've been happy to see the return of cardinals to our balcony as they've been coming by several times a day to munch that yummy yummy birdseed we have out. What's particularly cute about the cardinal couple is that they feed one another seeds from time to time. We sort of caught that here:



They also seem to have a chaperone...

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Technical question: did you change the hue/saturation on that image? I really like its flat lighting.

[yourlibrarian]

Not on this one, no. But I do for a number of photos to compensate for a lack of brightness or clarity when we're shooting through the glass door (and at a distance). Luckily the cardinals already have a good deal of color as opposed to, say, mourning doves.

Although this photo is from last year, the grackles are again nesting in our balcony roof. This is much more often the sort of resolution we get from photos that have any movement in them.

Thanks

[jesse_the_k]

Grackles are smart enough to nest upside down!

Re: Thanks

[yourlibrarian]

Oh they've definitely been acrobatic getting in and out of the siding gap. This year I kept watching them trying and failing to make it in while carrying grasses and such. I suspect they have an easier time when their beaks are free.

[kk1raven]

That's a starling, not a grackle. You can tell by the colors of the bill and feet, and the shape of the tail.

[yourlibrarian]

I think you're right -- there are more photos here.