With the warblers long gone now, my favorite singer takes the stage; the northern cardinal. They are permanent residents but begin nesting in the spring and continue through the summer. Their songs are among the first you hear in the morning and the first to welcome the setting sun. Secretive and seemingly very aware of the art of camouflage, for the most part they have remained out of range of my camera, skipping to the next branch just as I adjusted the focus. I look forward to my daily observations and recently I was very lucky to have a particularly loving couple who nested in my pigmy date palm next to my lanai. I watched the female build the nest from when she first checked it out to the last bit of Spanish moss hung on the upper fronds to give her nest that lived in, Florida ambiance. While the female nested the male was never at loss for songs, which seemed to herald in the new life that was coming. He began to sing in the morning with the most unusual song which ascended then descended and ended with a trill or what my young niece calls a “raspberry”. I’ve never heard this before and he didn’t do it too often. While she sat on the eggs he passed her food preceded by a softer chirp in what looked like a kiss. I got a glimpse of their fierceness though when a mockingbird came too close. Their reaction was immediate and they were on the mockingbird before he could say “oops”. Unfortunately, while they were out, a wind storm blew the palm fronds open, revealing the week old chicks to predators from above. Undaunted by their loss, they continued on in a neighboring yard, courting, singing and building a new nest in a lower shrub. Spurred on by instincts and hormones, no doubt, but for me I saw a metaphor for living. Observing these birds has left me with an attitude that life is definitely worth singing about!
