Bad Feather Days

Birds and flowers share a delightful characteristic. And that is that, as a whole, they are never in their full glory at the same time of year. Some flowers bloom in the spring, some late in summer, some later than that. While as a general rule my backyard birds are more glorious in the breeding season, there are important subtleties. For example, the American Goldfinches are undoubtedly at their best at high summer. In contrast, there is the Northern Cardinal. Ours are in the recovery stage of their big annual molt. And say what you will, the adults look awful. Once even a modest amount of feathers came out, they resembled the diehards at the end of a rowdy party. But this is perfectly normal, and they will look sharp again soon, and will be at their most vivid in the dull slate gray winter days set against a pine tree green, perhaps. Something to look forward to when there are few flowers.