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Northern Cardinal


Northern Cardinal
Photo Information
Copyright: Jane Magen (jaycee) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2454 W: 10 N: 8044] (25460)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2011-04-03
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon SX30IS
Exposure: f/5.0, 1/1000 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2011-04-05 7:33
Viewed: 3365
Points: 32
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Summer seemed to arrive in Arizona overnight. One day the branches were bare and the next morning they were covered with green leaves. This Cardinal seemed to be enjoying the warmth as much as I enjoyed his reappearance.


Northern Cardinal

The male Northern Cardinal is unmistakable. It is bright red with crest, a black face and stout red bill. The female is a light brown edged with red on the crest, wings and tail. This is our only crested bird with a conical beak except for in parts of the Southwest, where it is replaced by the Pyrrhuloxia. Length: 8 to 9 inches (20-23 cm).

The Cardinal feeds on grape, holly, blackberry, wild seeds and many kinds of insects. Feeding mainly on the ground in the open and nesting in thickets, the Northern Cardinal is well suited to garden areas. Nonmigratory, it stays around bird feeders even in the snowy winters of southern Canada and the northeastern states, but it does best where winters are milder. They frequent woodland edges, thickets, brushy swamps and garden suburbs.The voice is a rich what-cheer, cheer, cheer; purty-purty-purty-purty or sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet.

Three or four pale greenish blue eggs (1.0 x .7 inch) spotted with reddish brown are laid in a nest made of twigs, rootlets, strips of bark and lined with grasses and rootlets in thick bushes or vines 2-10 feet high. Rarely up to 30 feet.

The Cardinal is a resident in the eastern United States and southern Canada south to the Gulf Coast, and from southern California, Arizona and southern Texas southward.

From Aviary
maurydv, KOMSIS, ramthakur, maaciejka, siggi, CeltickRanger, Luis52, brech, Pitoncle has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hallo Jane,
nice to see a new picture from you, a splendid capture of the Northern Cardinal, very beautiful vivid colours, well saturated, good sharpness, a very pleasant composition with this marvellous bird among the branches and green leaves
TFS
Best regards
Maurizio

  • Great 
  • KOMSIS Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 820 W: 0 N: 2419] (10674)
  • [2011-04-05 7:54]

Hi Jane,
Nice to see you back on TN!
This composition is very lovely with Northern Cardinal. Very good capture.Excellent sharpness.
Best wishes,
Seyfi

hello Jane
Welkom back with this beauty bird
great details and lovely colours
greeting lou

  • Great 
  • horias Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 837 W: 58 N: 2084] (11033)
  • [2011-04-05 8:15]

Hi Jane
Congratulation's for this lovely Cardinal!
Great details and colors!
Wonderful blue of the sky is great!
Horia

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
  • [2011-04-05 8:16]

Hello Jane,
Welcome back after two months. Very nice photo of this Northern Cardinal. Great contrasting bright colours. Good sharpness and an excellent composition.
Regards,
Peter

Great to see you posting again, Jane! Hope all is well.
This is a very cheerful picture of a Northern Cardinal up there on the tree just bursting out into tender green leaves.
And your ever blue sky is a treat for the eyes once again.
Best regards.
Ram

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 6595 W: 89 N: 15659] (65489)
  • [2011-04-05 9:16]

Hi Jane,welcome back! You low POV are always great,i like this composition so perfect and colorfull,very impressive focus on the cardinal and great light balance too.Thanks for share,have a nice day,Luciano

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
  • [2011-04-05 9:54]

Hello Jane,
Welcome back to TN!
This fine capture provides a nice splash of colours with this male Northern Cardinal strikingly seen against the blue sky with the leaves of the Mesquite proving some greenery in a pleasing composition.
You have the start of summer while we have the start of spring!
Thanks and kind regards,
Ivan

Hi Jane,
perfect compositon. I like these colours - blue, green and something like orange. Very goog DOF and POV,
thanks for sharing,
Maciek

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3097 W: 109 N: 12399] (52850)
  • [2011-04-05 11:15]

Hello Jane.
The colors are striking and you captured a good pose from the cardinal. Well composed and nice and sharp where it counts.I miss you on TN!Best regards Siggi

Hello Jane,

What a beauty.

Regards, Petra

HellJane

Nice to see you in TN again and i hope you
will stay more longer time, excellent photo
of Mister Northern Cardinal with a fine
« en contre-plongé » POV that only you have
the copyright LOL ! excellent focus sharpness
and details, beautiful cacth-light that render
the photo more beautiful, great contrast between
the blue, green and red color tones, TFS

Asbed

  • Great 
  • Luis52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1175 W: 8 N: 4240] (15809)
  • [2011-04-05 17:40]

Hola Prima-
A great joy for me to see You again here cousin, I really miss Your photos of Cardinals and Blue sky like this one.
TFS Jane.
Luis52.

Bonjour Jane,
Magnifique publication valorisant bien le sujet, sous une bonne profondeur de champ et une belle lumière, grâce à la formidable opposition des couleurs.
A bientôt sur TN pour de nouvelles aventures.
Gérard

  • Great 
  • fiyo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1053 W: 5 N: 3475] (15161)
  • [2011-04-07 9:02]

Hi Jane,
The dark blue sky, a beautiful composition
sharpness is very pretty.
Congratulations, regards ..

  • Great 
  • tuslaw Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2754 W: 282 N: 4931] (19883)
  • [2011-04-07 19:30]

Hello Jane,
Nice to see you back again. A great shot of this proud looking Northern Cardinal who seems to be enjoying the beautiful Arizona weather. Love the composition and bright vivid colors. Wonderful sharpness and great DOF. Well done!!
Ron
PS. The kids are leaving Phoenix and moving to Tulsa next week, so I'm not sure when we will be visiting your beautiful state again.

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