@mellielong We have two pairs of cardinals here in DeLand that we watch hanging out in our azaleas and around the birdbath, however, in Hot Springs Village we have what we call our Florida's evil twin who spends his time crashing into our windows endlessly.


Here he is sitting in our Bradford pear deciding which window to attack in our family room.

Great photos! Melanie, what a stunning colour My mother used to have a peacock who would make courting displays to his own image in a mirror (he wasn't the brightest!) - perhaps your cardinals are doing something similar?
Jean, what an amazing variety of birds in one place - it must be a wonderful place to visit.

Is that a woodpecker slightly above and to the left of the cardinal, Jean?

Yeah, most animals can't recognize themselves in a mirror. That's mostly a human thing. It's only the male Cardinal that I see doing it, so I think he's defending his territory from the male in the side mirror.

Jean, you do have a woodpecker photobombing your Cardinal!

@cliftoncat and @mellielong You are both right. It is a pileated woodpecker. As many times as I have looked at this photo, I never saw the woodpecker photobombing the cardinal! I my focus was on the cardinal and not his surroundings. I have several other pictures that I took at the same time. I will check to see if the photobomber is in either of them.

Melanie, nice shot of the pretty male Cardinal!

Jean, love your photos from the wildlife refuge and Mika has a good eye; I had to go back and look but indeed there is a woodpecker to the upper left, past the cardinal ... looks like a Downy or Hairy WP to me, way too small to be the Pileated.

Yes, the male Northern Cardinal sees his reflection and attacks, thinking it's another Cardinal ... he's protecting his territory.

Those pictures were taken in early 2015. I remember taking them now and at the time I was concentrating on taking this one of the woodpecker. Because I thought he had flown away I saw the cardinal so concentrated on him. I suppose the bomber was lurking on the other side of the tree and when I took the cardinal picture, he decided to have some fun.

@plantladylin I was wrong about pileated. Upon looking at the next photo, you are right. He is too small.

@beckygardener - yes, he's a Siberian Husky, he'll be 2 this summer.
Then and Now

Geese and ducks today

Great photos, jmorth! Love the cool reflections in the second one

Here's a pic of a husky pup we met on our Arctic trip, at a village with the unpronounceable name of Ittoqqortoormiit:



Cute, but Plato has more beautiful eyes!

How about another exotic? I think it's a Kori Bustard (Tanzania)

rocklady said:@plantladylin I was wrong about pileated. Upon looking at the next photo, you are right. He is too small.

Might possibly be a Yellow- bellied Sapsucker.

I heard the first towhee of the year this morning! I love hearing them!

Mika,
All Siberian pup pics are adorable. (my, you sure get around the world) Love your pics.
Plato's eyes are what swayed our choice of pups back in July, 2014 when we chose him (he was the runt of the litter).
'Kori Bustard' - what a name, kind of looks like an American Southwest Road Runner.

First Brown Thrasher of 2016 showed up today in the backyard! Also had a warbler but not sure which one. I did not have my camera when I saw that very tiny bird.

Ducklings

Nicely tufted.

Some more birds today - these pics are not the best, shot from a moving vehicle...

Wish I could have stopped, but holiday dinners are scheduled. It was a neat sight, a farmer had just plowed a whole field and it was literally covered with white birds.

@cliftoncat We do have Baltimore Orioles that build a weaving type nest but more elongated than the pic of your round woven nest.

Claudia, the Brown Thrasher is another one that is new to me. He has some beautiful markings - I'll be looking him up.

Cute little ducklings! Does anyone know what kind they are? They have strange little lumps on the back of their heads.
The birds in the fields look as though they might be seagulls - at least that's what seagulls do in England!

Thanks, Cindy, for the info on the Baltimore orioles, I'll be looking them up on google! What I would like to know is how birds know how to build such elaborate nests - do they copy the adults, are they born with the knowledge, do they purchase an off-site plan??? Mysterious!

I think they're sea gulls too. duck pedigree, no idea.