Kip’s Comments - December 26, 2022

Dec 26

Different Cardinal Thoughts

On Christmas Eve Day I shared an image of a male northern cardinal that appeared at just the right time to remind me of important people in our lives that are no longer with us. With the holiday coming, the cardinal was a good omen to see. Today I share with you different thoughts on cardinals.

Shortly after waking and eating breakfast I was outside preparing to move snow from our driveway. As I walked toward the garage a bird of prey took flight - likely either a Cooper’s hawk or a sharp-shinned hawk. I was not afforded enough time to identify the bird with certainty, but I do know it was a bird of prey - a bird that feeds on other birds with great efficiency.

Since the prey bird was flying away and out of view, and since I have plenty of sparrows to feed the bird (bird feeding in a literal sense), I did not look around for any clues to the story behind the hunt and attack. As I began moving snow what had happened became very apparent. My first clue was a single, irregular red feather sticking upright in the snow. Scattered around that feather were many more red feathers of various sizes and shapes. The bird of prey had captured a male northern cardinal somewhere - possibly not at our yard since I have not seen any cardinals here - and was feeding on it in our yard.

Knowing a male northern cardinal was lost to a hawk is not an easy start to the day. But we have to think about this. The hawk is a vital part of our environment and the hawk needs to eat too. That said, I would prefer the hawks take one or more of our pesky house sparrows and leave the cardinals alone.