Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Cardinal Wars

The front yard feeder station has become a battlefield.  At least among the Northern Cardinals.  I have seen as many as four males coverging in the area -- and as you can imagine, they're combative.  Cardinal territories are fiercely contested in the spring and summer.  Wherever the lines lie, the alpha bird is not tolerating the other males trying to grab a seed.  I've studied enough to think the lines of at least three territories must converge nearby.  This is a change from last year when there was toleration at the southeast station and I didn't see much fighting elsewhere.  That is the way it goes.  I'm pretty pleased our conditions are so cardinal-friendly that we have many breeding pairs.  And they'll survive the combat.  It might even be fun to watch the aerial dogfights!

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