A Corner-Eyed Cardinal Observed

"The redbird, from the window hung,
Not long my fancies thus beguiled:
Again in maple-groves it sung
Its wood-notes wild;
For, rousing with a tearful eye,
I gave it to the trees and sky!"~excerpted from The Cardinal Bird

Date: November 25, 2007
Time: 12:00-12:25 p.m.
Weather Report: Fair, 46°F, 47% Humidity, Winds: SW @ 10 mph; feels like 41°F.
Location: The yard to the right of our home in the upstate New York City of Rochester. This was a totally impromptu bird watching experience, which was begun as my wife and I were beginning to hanging out Christmas lights on the front porch... glorious!

Bird Species/Markings/Features: 1 adult male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).

Sights/Sounds/Activities: One would think with all the leaves having fallen, that watching birds would be easier, but unfortunately this is not the case. This afternoon I got lucky, though, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a large make Northern Cardinal just sitting quietly on the fence which runs across my neighbor's side lot.

The Cardinal stayed very silent and was well hidden despite being in the (relatively)wide open. Even Gracie, our dog, didn't notice him there, for surely if she did, she would have been scooting around the porch whining. I even had time to run in the house grab my camera and snap some shots... none of which came out very well, but I still have the memory of the beautiful Northern Cardinal bird standing watch over somehting, exactly what I do not know.

In my imagination, I pretend the cardinal was watching us through the corer of his eye, too, as we prepared our home for the holidays...