Are You Talking To Me?!

northern-cardinal-4

F/6.3, 1/250, ISO 450.

Northern Cardinal

What did little Tom’s mother do when she caught him zapping the other children with static electricity?

She grounded him.

Interesting Fact: The oldest recorded Northern Cardinal was a female, and was 15 years, 9 months old when she was found in Pennsylvania. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )

It’s Monday Don’t Forget To Be Awesome!

F/ 7.1, 1/200, ISO 250.

Northern Cardinal ( Female )

My neighbor is really into music.

Even his driveway is hard rock.

Interesting Fact: Many people are perplexed each spring by the sight of a cardinal attacking its reflection in a window, car mirror, or shiny bumper. Both males and females do this, and most often in spring and early summer when they are obsessed with defending their territory against any intruders. Birds may spend hours fighting these intruders without giving up. A few weeks later, as levels of aggressive hormones subside, these attacks should end (though one female kept up this behavior every day or so for six months without stopping).  ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )

I Was Redhead Before It Was Cool!

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 640.

Northern Cardinal ( Male ) 

Why did Captain Kirk go in to the ladies room? 

Because he wanted to go where no man had gone before.

Interesting Fact:  The Cardinal nest typically takes 3 to 9 days to build; the finished product is 2-3 inches tall, 4 inches across, with an inner diameter of about 3 inches. Cardinals usually donā€™t use their nests more than once. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )

Look, I Found Your Business…. It Was All Up In Mine Again!

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 320.

Northern Cardinal ( Female )

How do you make a lemon drop?

Just let it fall.

Interesting Fact: Northern Cardinals eat mainly seeds and fruit, supplementing these with insects (and feeding nestlings mostly insects). Common fruits and seeds include dogwood, wild grape, buckwheat, grasses, sedges, mulberry, hackberry, blackberry, sumac, tulip-tree, and corn. Cardinals eat many kinds of birdseed, particularly black oil sunflower seed. They also eat beetles, crickets, katydids, leafhoppers, cicadas, flies, centipedes, spiders, butterflies, and moths. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )

Baby It’s Cold Outside!

F/8.0,1/250, ISO 400.

Northern Cardinal Male 

Why did Scrooge keep a pet lamb?

Because it would say, ā€œBaaaaahh humbug!ā€

Interesting Fact: Look for Northern Cardinals in dense shrubby areas such as forest edges, overgrown fields, hedgerows, backyards, marshy thickets, mesquite, regrowing forest, and ornamental landscaping. Cardinals nest in dense foliage and look for conspicuous, fairly high perches for singing. Growth of towns and suburbs across eastern North America has helped the cardinal expand its range northward. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )

 

 

 

Red Mean Stop And Admire!

F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 1000.

Northern Cardinal ( Male )

Did you hear the joke about the roof?

Never mind, it’s over your head!

Interesting Fact: Males sometimes bring nest material to the female, who does most of the building. She crushes twigs with her beak until theyā€™re pliable, then turns in the nest to bend the twigs around her body and push them into a cup shape with her feet. The cup has four layers: coarse twigs (and sometimes bits of trash) covered in a leafy mat, then lined with grapevine bark and finally grasses, stems, rootlets, and pine needles. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )

Finally! Spring Is Here!

F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 320.

Northern Cardinal ( Female )

What season is it best to go on a trampoline?

Spring time

Interesting Fact: The brilliant red of a male Northern Cardinal calls attention to itself when males are around. You can also find cardinals by getting a sense of the warm, red-tinged brown of females ā€“ a pattern you can learn to identify in flight. Away from backyards, cardinals are still common but inconspicuous owing to their affinity for dense tangles. Listen for their piercing chip notes to find where they are hiding. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/overview  )

Snow Way!

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 400.

Northern Cardinal ( Male )

In the class room

Bobby: ” Can I go the toilet? ” 

Teacher: ” Say the alphabet ”

Bobby: ” ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOQRSTUVWXYZ “

Teacher: “Where’s the P “

Bobby: ” Half way down my leg “

Interesting Fact: Northern Cardinals hop through low branches and forage on or near the ground. Cardinals commonly sing and preen from a high branch of a shrub. The distinctive crest can be raised and pointed when agitated or lowered and barely visible while resting. You typically see cardinals moving around in pairs during the breeding season, but in fall and winter they can form fairly large flocks of a dozen to several dozen birds. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory#behavior )

Sorry. Yesterday Was The Deadline For All Complaints.

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 500.

Northern Cardinal ( Female )

What do you give an elephant thatā€™s going to be sick?

Plenty of space!

Interesting Fact: Males sometimes bring nest material to the female, who does most of the building. She crushes twigs with her beak until theyā€™re pliable, then turns in the nest to bend the twigs around her body and push them into a cup shape with her feet. The cup has four layers: coarse twigs (and sometimes bits of trash) covered in a leafy mat, then lined with grapevine bark and finally grasses, stems, rootlets, and pine needles. The nest typically takes 3 to 9 days to build; the finished product is 2-3 inches tall, 4 inches across, with an inner diameter of about 3 inches. Cardinals usually donā€™t use their nests more than once. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )

What Was That?

F/13.0, 1/500, ISO 800.

Northern Cardinal ( Female )

Why couldn’t the leopard play hide and seek?

Because he was always spotted.

Interesting Fact: A week or two before the female starts building, she starts to visit possible nest sites with the male following along. The pair call back and forth and hold nesting material in their bills as they assess each site. Nests tend to be wedged into a fork of small branches in a sapling, shrub, or vine tangle, 1-15 feet high and hidden in dense foliage. They use many kinds of trees and shrubs, including dogwood, honeysuckle, hawthorn, grape, redcedar, spruce, pines, hemlock, rose bushes, blackberry brambles, elms, sugar maples, and box elders. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )