Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Cardinal Combat Underway

The long-expected Cardinal dogfight has begun. Over the winter we enjoyed observing a fairly substantial family group of six birds, three of whom are males. Our Cardinal-friendly backyard is simply not large enough for more than one breeding pair. Therefore once breeding season hit fights have begun for supremacy in that prime real estate. I have watched the males chasing and dogfighting, and in fact I'm fairly certain one of the three contenders (surely the most junior in age) has been driven off. It shouldn't be long before the alpha bird clears out the pretender. It is remarkable how fierce the fights have been. These nervous, quirky, even timid birds in winter suddenly become aggressive little Baron von Richthofens. And that is the way Nature programmed it. No matter how delightful it is to see so many colorful birds, the Cardinals are instinctively sensitive to resource needs and can't afford to share the wealth with competitors. On the plus side, the wealth is considerable at our place and the Cardinals should be in fine shape to raise healthy and successful youngsters. And I look forward to that outcome. More news as we learn it...

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