My Lady Cardinal

I visited Millbrook Marsh very briefly on Thursday morning, and just before I left the boardwalk, I spotted this female northern cardinal posing on a branch.

She was quite the picture of fashion, very well turned out, with a delightful little red tuft on her head and matching feathers the same exact shade on her tail. (You can see the tail feathers better in the other shots I took from the back, but this was the view that I think did her lovely self the most justice.) Well done, my lady, well done!

And do you see that small bunch of berries on the branch just beneath her? Right after I snapped this shot, she helped herself to this tasty little snack, daintily nibbling each berry in turn. Such lovely manners!

Bird lovers who are interested in hearing the songs and calls of the northern cardinal may do so here. (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a wonderful online resource for bird lovers, so you may want to bookmark this site.) A photo of a male northern cardinal - also taken at Millbrook - may be found in one of my prior blips here.

The song to accompany this photo is the the Byrds, performing a Bob Dylan classic, The Chimes of Freedom. And here's a bonus version, sung by the Boss. Think peace . . .