Butterfly and Wildlife Gardening And Photography In Houston Texas
Category Archives: Cardinal I finally yanked out the camera after taking some time off from photography. It’s been so hot outside I just haven’t felt like taking any pictures. Despite the drought and its effects (very few Butterflies so far this year), the Cardinals appear to have done well. We have several babies that are being fed by…  I saw Melvin again today. He (actually it’s looking like a she) doesn’t look like a Cardinal at all now. It’s day 13 for Melvin. Because it’s so hot down here, many of the birds are flocking to my bird fountains to get a drink, and that includes Melvin. Later Melvin begged his adopted mother…  I’ll start with the good news. Melvin became a fledgling today. He actually left the nest. He didn’t travel far, just down a few branches, but I still think that qualifies him as a fledgling. It’s also his eleventh day since he hatched, so that would be right on schedule. Now for the not so…  I’m really confused. I’m wondering if Melvin is really a Cardinal or might he be a Cowbird? I was asked the other day how I discovered the Cardinal’s nest. It was then that I recalled that I saw two broken egg shells (from what looked like two different type birds) near where the nest is… First things first. Thank you to everyone who wrote a comment of concern on the blog or to me personally. I really appreciate it. I’m happy to report that Melvin’s mother has returned tonight. It was a scary night when she did not return last night and Melvin had to spend his first night alone…. I was going to post some new videos of Melvin today, but now I have a more pressing concern. Mama bird did not return to the nest tonight (it’s 9:43 pm and totally dark outside). What should I do? It’s only supposed to get down to 79 degrees tonight, so I’m guessing it will be…  Today is Melvin’s 6th day. His (I say he, but it could be a she) eyes are just beginning to open. As I’ve mentioned in the my last few posts about Melvin, his father is taking a very active role in his feeding. Here’s Papa Cardinal bringing in some food for Melvin. It looks like… Melvin the baby Cardinal is growing fast, and it’s only day 5. He’s got some nice wing feathers coming in, and it looks like his eyes may be starting to open. Today I was lucky enough to record a brief video where Melvin’s dad, Papa, dropped off a quick meal, and Melvin showed his appreciation…  It’s day 4 and “Melvin” the baby Cardinal has really grown by leaps and bounds. He’s got some very small wing tip feathers now. Also for the first time, the father of “Melvin” dropped by to contribute to his feeding. I’m not sure what the heck he brought, but whatever it was it was huge. …  Can you tell how I’m feeling today based on my posts? Yep, I’m in the mood to really complain about the lack of rain and this baking heat. It’s becoming a struggle to keep the plants adequately watered, the pond filled with water, the pool, etc. Even the birds are getting really hot today and… I found our first Cardinal nest the other day and it has 2 eggs (the second egg came about a day after the first). The eggs are about 3-4 days old. I got lucky this year (or the Cardinal felt sorry for me) in that the nest is in our Gardenia shrub, which means I…  Leecy had “eagle eyes” today, although it’s a wonder she didn’t scare this wonderful bird away. I was vacuuming and Leecy starts screaming “it’s the blue bird” and clapping her hands. I said, “what’s going on, you mean the Bluebirds?” She said, “NO, the Blue Bird!” After momentarily thinking Leecy had lost her mind, I…  I know Northern Cardinals are common in this area, but I still like photographing them. What I particularly like about these photos is the level of detail in the feathers. These were taken with the 300 f.28 with a 1.4 teleconverter.  I woke up early this morning so I could test out the new Bird Pond Photography Blind. I thought with the early morning glow of the sun and my yellow fabric background, it would look really nice. Above is a Male Northern Cardinal on an old tree stump with the yellow background. I haven’t decided…  I work up early today since the weather forecast predicted nothing but sunshine. I also wanted at least one good day to use this rented 300mm f2.8 lens. I really love this lens. Perhaps it’s just me, but it appears so much sharper than my 100-400. Now I feel like I am in a real… |
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