February, the month of love, brought us a few surprises this year, one of which was a new visitor to our bird feeder.
This pale female cardinal has graced us with her presence daily and RH has caught her in his phone lens many times, rarely catching her completely still.
And never with a good closeup of her eyes, the telling attribute to determine whether she is an Albino cardinal or a Leucistic cardinal, Albino having pink eyes or Leucistic with black eyes.
However, when I look at the videos of both kinds of cardinals her coloring looks like the Albino cardinal.
Here's her mate, or at least we think so...
I had always been told that cardinals mate for life and I remember crying the time I saw a handsome male cardinal fly into the window and fall to the ground with a broken neck. Something like that always breaks my heart, doesn't it yours? Because I also hurt for the bird who has lost their mate.
I mean, I have been known to bawl when reading an old recipe for how to cook swans! How could anyone?
This month I've googled Albino and Leucistic cardinals, of course, here, and here for whether cardinals do truly mate for life.
Turns out I probably shouldn't have worried so much about female cardinals. First of all, it is the female who chooses her mate, based on two things mind you, his bright red color and his ability to give her lots of baby birds.
Yes, cardinals do basically mate for life...but young females have been known to ditch a mate who fails to give her a full nest and they very quickly choose another mate when widowed.
AND the little stinkers have been know to cheat on the males.
Who knew??
All this reminds me of the old tear-jerker movie with Meryl Streep/Jack Nicholson, Heartburn, where she goes home to her father and crying, tells him her husband is in love with another woman. What is she going to do, she asks him.
"You want monagamy, marry a swan," he tells her.
And that classic Nora Ephron line brings back another memory, visiting in the home of a school friend while growing up and her mother, when we told her of exciting news in our young lives, would look amazed and say, "Well, I'll swan!"
Now, how do I end a weird post?
Did you have pancakes yesterday morning for Shrove Tuesday breakfast? We enjoyed ours with the first vase of daffodils from the wild garden behind the barn.
I'm a winter girl and still hold out hope for a true gorgeous deep snowfall for Middle Tennessee but I have to admit that I'm appreciating the signs of Spring around me. We're even supposed to have record-breaking high temperatures this week that will bring on more buds and blooms. And that also means that our one lilac will get freezer burn again this year.
And all around us soon will be the whimsical sight of male birds courting females. If they only knew!
Your writing is most enchanting! You have such a gift. I had no idea about the cardinals - especially the female being adulterous, lol. We learn something new every day! And I've never seen a pale cardinal before. Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteHow have I never heard of the movie, Heartburn when Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson are two of my favorite actors?! I definitely have to look up that movie now.
Your pancakes and bacon look delicious. And I'm envious of your daffodils. Mine are just now poking green shoots out of the ground. Though we're right in the middle of an ice storm, so who knows how that's going to affect the daffodils.
I am SO done with winter - I wish I could trade locations with you! Both Brian and I are longing for warm weather and working in the yard and hanging out on the patio.
What a fun and entertaining post, Dewena! I did not know about pale cardinals, nor about the females being so intent on propagating that they do whatever is necessary.
ReplyDeleteNo daffodils in bloom yet although it won't be long. They are being set back somewhat by the chilly temperature that blew in, along with a bit of fine snow.
I think we're all eager for a bit of spring sunshine!
I was worried going in, thinking from your blog post that it would be another expose of the church, priests behaving badly, but it turned out to be another one of your charming posts, dear Dewena. I'd forgotten about Heartburn, a good film.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Ah, such interesting information about today, Dewena. We have a lot of cardinals in our yard and I've also romanticized their pairings, sometimes with the heartbreak you mentioned. Now I know better and I will save my tears! I've never seen a female albino though. Ours are grey or beige. I'll definitely be paying more attention now, perhaps I'll catch a glimpse of one. Ps...Nora Ephron is my very favorite modern screenwriter. She captured the banter and wit of the classic Hollywood romcoms, but I've never seen Heartburn. Gotta check that one out tonight. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading about your cardinal. We don't have them here in Colorado, so I always get such a thrill when we visit our son in Wisconsin, where they have them in abundance. Birds are so interesting. I learned something yesterday about Bushtits. The adults that are too young, don't pair up for the season, or may have failed nests of their own, will assist with other birds' young ones. They are referred to as 'helpers at the nest' and will aide in gathering food and feeding. I wonder if other species do this, too?
ReplyDeleteI can empathize with your crying over the swans. I learned recently that my beloved sandhill cranes are known in hunting circles as 'ribeyes of the skies.' That just made me cry.
On a lighter note, we had our pancakes, but a day early, on Monday :P
It has always been my dream to see the red cardinal one day. We don't see them here in California where I've lived. That female looks awfully light, they are usually a brownish color. That is a sweet photo of her resting on Saint Francis, and nicely representing him, as he loved animals. Your pancakes look delicious, and you always set a lovely table, Dewena. I am always amazed when I see food photos so carefully done, as I love food and don't want to wait, and just dig in haha. No Spring here yet, and we are expecting another snow soon. I really like that first photo on the cardinal in flight.....it's wonderful! And what a pleasant surprise to have seen her at the bird feeder the month of February. I hope she keeps coming by for a visit. : )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
I knew a lot of critters, bird, mate for life but how interesting about the cardinal. Lots of babies! I wonder up to how old a cardinal is till they can't do the baby thing again?
ReplyDeleteYour pancakes are very appealing!! I wanted to use the word "divine," but I am trying not to start using that word for mere earthly food ;-) -- how about "heavenly"? Nah, I think our feasting in heaven will be at another level altogether.
ReplyDeleteBut to answer your question, our Orthodox parish has a pancake brunch every year the week before Lent. Our Lent always starts on Monday, and it hasn't started quite yet, but we already had our pancakes last week, with bacon. We also had fruit, and smoked salmon and sour cream available to go with. These Russian pancakes called blini are typically crepes, but this year they looked more like yours, and I liked them better. Have a blessed Lent!
Well, who knew that it is the femaile cardinals that will do absolutely anything (or everything!) to ensure that they have a full nest of fluffy and feathery chicks! I love that you and RH have taken such an interest in observing all the different wildlife in your own backyard, and have made the time an effort to teach us some interesting facts!
ReplyDeleteYour pancakes look delicious and the bight and colourful accents of blue and yellow in your linens, dinnerware and daffodils, respectively, make for a bright and cheery ambience. Have you ever topped your pancakes with blueberries after you've poured them on to the griddle? As they cook, they soften, become jucier and so much sweeter, adding their signature flavour to the pancakes! Their taste actually changes from sour to sweet. I also replace half the regular white flour with oat flour for a slightly healthier version, as I do like oats in almost all my sweet breads/cakes/muffins/pancakes. I also add a little lemon zest to the mix, at the end, which makes for a fresh, aromatic infusion.
And, as I know how much you love lemon with raspberry, I thought I'd mention it for this berry!
Sending love,
Poppy