photo by paul davis |
Redbirds a.k.a. Cardinals
(cardinalis cardinalis) were frequent visitors to my home in northeastern Ohio
where I grew up. That bright flash of
red announcing the male and his paler counterpart and mate. They came in the winter to feast on seeds we left in the large feeder my father constructed. The Redbirds were not alone, but they were
the brightest spot in the feeder alongside the flashing blue of jays, the
grays of juncos, the soft browns of sparrows and the stark black and
white contrast of chickadees. Even
the brown fur of an occasional squirrel could be seen among the feathers.
photo by paul davis |
We watched, along with the
cats, from the window as the flashing colors came and went all winter
long. Those winters were long in the
Snowbelt that stretches between Cleveland, OH, and Buffalo, NY. They were also gray on most days for the lake
effect snows dumped plenty of white stuff on the ground which can’t be done on
a bright, blue sky day. But for all the
stark trees against their background of white, always there was that flash of
red. A reminder that the world is not
always seen in black and white and shades of gray.
photo by paul davis |
Of course, we did not
spend all our time sitting at the window watching the Redbirds and their friends. Most weekends found us out-of-doors, bundled
against the cold, riding down the big hill behind our house on our
toboggan. That was especially fun when
Dad came along. He was heavy enough to
take the toboggan all the way to the creek that ran through the valley at the
bottom of the hill. Before the saplings
were big enough to stop us with a BUMP, we came perilously close to a soaking
on more than one occasion. Winter
birthday parties always ended up with rosy cheeks and cold noses, hands and
feet, as well as a lot of whooping and hollering. And hot chocolate when we finally went
inside. Still, sometimes, sometimes,
there was a flash of red through the trees.
photo by paul davis |
Once walking the back
roads home after school through the muffled silence of big, fat, falling flakes
of snow, a Redbird crossed over the road directly in front of me. My friend saw it too. We stood still in the gathering dark and
watched as the red flash disappeared into the woods calling, “Whoit cheer, whoit cheer,
cheer-cheer-cheer!”
I have lived in two of the
seven (yes, seven!) states where the cardinal is the state bird – Ohio and
Illinois. Now I live in Colorado and
have for over half my life. I miss those
flashes of red. Yes, there is still a
bird feeder outside the window. It is
visited by redwing blackbirds and sparrows mostly as the magpies prefer dog
food over seeds. But the bright flash of
red is missing as cardinals do not live here.
So I thank my friends who
send their pictures my way brightening my winter days with a flash of red.
3 comments:
I enjoyed the post and the photos! I have a redbird puppet that I love. Thanks for sharing.
I enjoyed your post and the photos! I have a redbird puppet that I love. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Jessica. A Redbird puppet - Wow!
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