A cardinal swoops onto the railing of
the deck before the sun rises. He's the early bird, the earliest bird
to come for a breakfast of sunflower hearts. Soon, chickadees and
goldfinches swarm the railing, which we keep well supplied with
sunflower hearts. The chickadees eat from our hands; the goldfinches
fly off in a flock as soon as we open the deck door. The cardinal
does a fly-by, but will not land if we are anywhere to be seen.
Instead, he perches in a nearby apple tree, perhaps hiding from us,
though we can see him perfectly well.
Cardinals are shelf-feeders, not
perching feeders, so occasionally I see him coming in for a landing,
but, changing course at the last moment, he continues on down to the
ground below our second story deck, where cast-off seeds are hiding
in the grass.
After sunset, as the bird chorus
quiets into the dusk, the cardinal makes a final visit to eat
whatever remains on the railing. Quiet, alone, not bothered by or
competing with anyone else.
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