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In this photo, a female cardinal was perched on a tree limb overlooking the feeder. I was fortunate that she perched in a position where foreground limbs framed her instead of partially blocking my view.
A female Northern Cardinal perches on a limb on a snowy morning at Blendon Woods Metro Park, Westerville, Ohio.
Male Northern Cardinals are attention-getting birds, with their brilliant red feathers, red-orange beak, black face and sharp crest. You can spot the red easily in green trees and bushes during the summer or against snowy backgrounds during the winter since cardinals don’t migrate.
That’s not the case for the female Northern Cardinal. They are primarily a yellowish-brown with warm reddish tinges on the tail, crest and wings. The subdued colors blend with their surroundings, making them harder to spot.
I see cardinals in the summer but have very few photos of them with green leaves. That’s because cardinals are extremely shy birds, flying off quickly if they detect motion. There’s little to keep them in one spot when I approach in the summer.
The vast majority of my photos of cardinals are taken during the winter months in Blendon Woods Metro Park. The park has a viewing shed that provides bird watchers with a chance to watch a variety of waterfowl on a nearby pond during winter months (the pond has an aeration system so it doesn’t freeze solid in the winter).
The park also has a well-stocked bird feeder to the side of the shed. That’s why I go.
I use the shed as a photographer’s blind, keeping me out of the birds’ sight while protecting me from wind and snow (the shed isn’t heated, so I have to deal with the cold). Cardinals, nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, a variety of sparrows, woodpeckers, jays, and a number of other species queue up on surrounding limbs, bushes, or fallen logs while they wait for a spot at the feeder. That’s when I get my shots.
In this photo, a female cardinal was perched on a tree limb overlooking the feeder. I was fortunate that she perched in a position where foreground limbs framed her instead of partially blocking my view. A recent heavy snowfall blanketed the surrounding forest on the December morning, creating an off-white background between the limbs.
I like how the photo captures the bird’s feather details, including the extra tinges of red around the eye.
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