Sunday, January 1, 2012

A Cardinal's Courtship (Patagonia, AZ)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  
Here's to the NEW YEAR!  To new beginnings and great adventures.  To new friends and new family members.  To happiness and health to you and your family...may it be a good one for all.

~ A Cardinal's Courtship
Have you ever seen the courting between two Cardinals?  We have been honored and entertained with watching two bachelors trying to court/impress Miss Available Cardinal.  

Meet Bachelor #1: a handsome fellow.  We are not sure if he wants to impress the Miss or eat.  He seems a little shy and flies away when Bachelor #2 lands in the same tree.



Meet Bachelor #2: a very serious looking fellow with courtship on his mind.

He looks like he means business, doesn't he?

And here is the lovely little lady - Miss Cardinal.  She's a beauty, heh?


Here she is letting the sun filter through her head feathers giving her such a healthy glow.


I wasn't having much luck with getting the actual courtship dancing.  It is quite a sight to see.  If you happen to catch the Seinfeld episode where Elaine dances...that's what a male's courtship dance looks like - a disjointed, knee-jerking, very spastic, and "Totally Uncool Dude!" movements.  I did catch a few shots of them leaping from limb to limb...


Unimpressed, Miss Cardinal decided to get a snack and come back to see if the show was getting any better.

How about levitation?

I wonder...can birds yawn?  Doesn't she look a little bored?  Actually, I think she is eyeing the feeder.  "Hmm, I wonder if there is time for another snack...."
 Finally, Bachelor #1 decided he had had enough for the moment and flew away.
Well, no decision made today.  Miss Cardinal flew away and soon Bachelor #2 followed after her.    
Will Miss Cardinal choose one of these fine feathered males or is there a third one lurking out there?  Oh, I hate cliff-hangers!

11 comments:

  1. What great pictures of the cardinals! A beautiful song bird. Happy New Year!

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  2. Beautiful birds! Great photographs!

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  3. What handsome bachelors trying to impress the lovely lady! Wonderful captures of their courting attempts. I hope to see many more of your amazing animal photographs in 2012.

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  4. I just love these pictures of cardinals (Ohio State bird). I really miss their antics. We had one we named "Batty" who attacked his own reflection on windows and car mirrors and actually left blood on those surfaces. The second male has every reason to be wary.

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  5. Ours is courting "himself" at our window everyday. He pounds at the windows between 6-10 hours a day...and it is the third year in a row. LOL!

    Amazing photos! Again!!!!

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  6. beautiful pictures!
    Happy New Year!
    Nati from Brazil
    http://natiquill.blogspot.com

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  7. Happy New Year! Love the story and images, gorgeous:)

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  8. Thanks for stopping by Tara! I will be visiting your sites soon.

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  9. Happy New Year Amithgirl! Thanks for stopping by!

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"Friendship is a blessing, It's the best you have to share, The talents and the wisdom, The capacity to care." ~ Emily Matthews

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