The Morning Porch » cardinal

The male cardinal lands on a top branch...

Dave Bonta — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:50:56 +0000

The male cardinal lands on a top branch of the lilac and sits nearly motionless for ten minutes, an odd red triangle against the woods.

Dave Bonta — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 16:30:03 +0000

Wood thrush and cardinal song. A male hummingbird chases a silver-spotted skipper off the beebalm, then retreats to a dead branch to preen.

Dave Bonta — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:48:54 +0000

A little less cold, a little less clear as we inch toward the warm mud of April. The cardinal pays her morning visit to her glassy rival.

Dave Bonta — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:31:25 +0000

Intense cold, and a stillness so deep the trains can barely be heard. A cardinal flickers like a pilot light under the bridal wreath bush.

Dave Bonta — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:10:34 +0000

A cold, wet morning that must test the hunters’ mettle. Over the rain, the rattle of the window-tapping cardinal clashing with her nemesis.

Dave Bonta — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 12:13:00 +0000

Now that summer’s past, the cardinal has gone back to harassing her reflection. The frost-whitened myrtle bed. A barberry turned to flame.

Dave Bonta — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:38:14 +0000

Overcast and cool, with the beeping of quarry trucks. A pair of cardinals land above the dry creek bed, exchange a few chirps, and fly off.

Dave Bonta — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:38:40 +0000

Scattered bird calls—cardinal, vireo, field sparrow—all sound perfunctory except for the goldfinches, who are in thistle heaven at last.

Dave Bonta — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:35:39 +0000

The sun-struck meadow gives off a thin mist. From the front window, the tap of a female cardinal’s bill against her rival in the glass.

Dave Bonta — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:29:02 +0000

Cardinal song on a cool morning—those January notes. Up in the woods, a patch of sun on rain-slick huckleberry leaves shines white as snow.