Backyard Birding

The cardinal in the cherry tree

My favorite chair at my parents’ house is next to an east-facing window that looks out at a cherry tree in the backyard. The neighborhood birds love that cherry tree enough that they tolerate movement on the other side of the glass, which means that my favorite chair is a pretty good spot for backyard birding.

I don’t need binoculars to enjoy a close up view of the activity in the cherry tree—though two pairs are always stashed on a bookshelf within reach of the window. From a seated position, it only takes a slight twist of my neck to get a good look at the rosy breast of a House Finch or the stripy back of a House Sparrow as they hop busily among the lower branches. And though migration season can bring interesting visitors to the cherry tree¹, I’ve become fond of a year-round resident—the Northern Cardinal.

The cardinal prefers to stay up in the high branches, perched in one spot like a sentinel. During the warmer months, they nest a few dozen feet away in the neighbor’s arborvitae and the cherry tree provides a good vantage point to spy any incoming dangers. I suppose it just becomes habit to continue watch there during the winter, even when the cold wind visibly ruffles their feathers.

Last week, I spent a lot of time in my favorite chair as I battled a nasty cold with endless cups of tea and a stack of mediocre fantasy novels from the library. The cardinal became a welcome—if somewhat ordinary—companion, always where I expected when I glanced out the window.

Well, almost always.

I could hear the chirping call, but it took a moment to notice the flash of red much closer to the ground than I expected. My cardinal friend had taken a break to splash around in the birdbath that had recently filled up with melted snow. Spring had sprung, the sun was shining, and the cardinal was finding time to enjoy it. Let’s all take that as a reminder to do that same!

1. Last year, I wrote about a visitor to the cherry tree singing a familiar tune that reminded me of a stretch of the Greenstone Ridge Trail at Isle Royale National Park: