Weekend Birding: Juvenile Northern Cardinal
One of my favorite backyard birds is the Northern Cardinal. Two pairs regularly visit my backyard feeders and I have been waiting all summer to see a baby cardinal.
This week I finally saw a young cardinal at the feeder with his parents. They were showing him the sunflower seeds. They arrived just after sunset and it was too dark for a photo. Today he showed up again and was eating seeds from the ground under the feeder.
This is a young male, the equivalent of a teenager. He is just starting to grow his bright red feathers and soon his bill will transition to the familiar orange that distinguishes cardinals.
I will be bird watching out in a prairie today. It’s migration season and I hope to see a lot of birds not normally found in Illinois as they pass through on their journey south.
I’ll be stopping by to visit everyone’s photos later today.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2012 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Under My Apple Tree 
Poor thing still looks a little splotchy!
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He’s an attractive young fellow, inspite of his shagginess- or perhaps because of it. How lovely to see the next generation arrive. I was thrilled to see some cardinals in Texas last year. I’m sure you’ll have a great day watching migratory birds.
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Even though his plumage ain’t quite…. umm… IN yet, I still say he looks quite good. “Splotchy” as a former commenter put it. His beak still has that sort of downward frown to it. Like Jack Klugman in The Odd Couple. Soon he’ll be all filled out and spry…… like Tony Randall!
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Awkward looking, yes, but he’s going to be a handsome young bird when his bright red feathers grow in and his body size catches up to his large beak. And since cardinals don’t migrate I’m hoping to see him here at the feeder all winter brightening up my yard.
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I enjoy your pictures so much! I am a fellow birdwatcher. Seeing birds on my feeders makes me happy.
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I always look forward to your photos. What an adorable little guy.
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What an unusually coloured bird – splotchy and scruffy looking – like someone dropped a can of red paint as he was hopping by.
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so adorable, love his little tufted top.
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He looks like a teenager with spiked up hair in the bottom photo!
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He looks adorably scruffy. The neighbor said we had baby cardinals. She even considered not feeding the stray cats for a few months to give them a change to grow. Hope they make it. Here’s Mine
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Keeping the stray cats away is a good idea. The baby birds spend a lot of time on the ground and are still learning about predators.
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Oh, that is such a beautiful bird… even nicer than a robin. My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/DncFP
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I love to see cardinals. This is a great shot of a young one.
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That’s so cute! He looks just like an awkward teenager too.
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He is gorgeous…..I love any bird that has red plumage; thanks for sharing.
Here’s MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT POST
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Don’t think I’ll ever see a cardinal here. But we’ve lots of gulls and ducks and geese. These photos are so interesting. Thanks for sharing your birdwatching experience.
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They are such a common bird here in Illinois (and are the state bird) that I forget they are not seen in the Western US or Canada. Their range has been expanding as the climate gets warmer and more people put out backyard feeders.
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Ah, Saturday Snapshot would not be the complete without a visit to your blog and your fab photos.
As ever, great photos, Leslie.
You will understand why I have been absent for a while if you see my sat snapshot.
Have a great weekend
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I love getting to see cardinals! I’ve only seen them a couple of times while visiting the East coast, and I feel the same excitement each time I see them. 🙂
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Their range is expanding west and into southern Canada, but so far they haven’t made it to the northwest. I checked eBird and there have been cardinals spotted in Arizona and southern California, so maybe someday you will find on in your yard.
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Scruffy maybe but very arresting too.
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I love your birds. What a great adventure you’re having.
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These are gorgeous photos! Very natural and pretty.
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Haha, must be in his awkward teen stage. Can’t you just imagine teenage birds moaning about their patchy feathers? 🙂
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Very nice capture…He’s sure to get big quickly with your sunflower seeds♫♪
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He even looks adolescent! All shaggy and ‘mohawk’ … a real rowdy…
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I like his young look! Great shots.
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we are in Rochester New York and saw family similar to yours after sunset with the young male feeding below the feeder on the ground on Sept 8th. Also saw a humming bird today; a double treat today.
Have fun bird watching.
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