Fatherly Love

Observing birds in their free lives need not necessarily be the into the wilderness, it could be in the comfort of your backyard, either way it gives you the opportunity to enjoy very delightful and heart warming moments such as the one that is the feature of this post.

There are about half a dozen Northern Cardinal families nesting within the area of my backyard. I see them at any time of the day, flying not only to the feeders but from tree to tree also chasing each other, there’s a kind of traffic out there, not counting other species.

Once I set my camera for a shooting session, anything that I see might become the subject of my photos, all depends of what develops from the activity of birds getting their meals.

In this case I saw a young female Northern Cardinal alone and looking very insecure until I saw an adult male approach her and I knew then that it was the father (Note that he’s undergoing molting). She signaled with the fast shaking of her wings (her wing feathers are not fully developed yet but she is able to fly). The whole process of feeding the child is illustrated on my Photo Gallery. I just hope that you like it as much as I did!

16 thoughts on “Fatherly Love”

susanpoozan on August 14, 2015 at 7:58 am said:

What a heartwarming set of pictures, they made me smile.

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- avian101 on August 14, 2015 at 11:07 am said:
  
  Thank you Susan! 🙂
  
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Jet Eliot on August 14, 2015 at 10:07 am said:

oh, this was really wonderful, HJ. It’s espec. unique because clearly the male is the father feeding his youngster, but because he is molting he doesn’t look as fully feathered as they usually do. So there’s a vulnerability to both of them here. Wonderful. 😀

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- avian101 on August 14, 2015 at 11:09 am said:
  
  Thank you Jet! You’re right in all counts! 🙂
  
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tootlepedal on August 14, 2015 at 5:56 pm said:

I did like it.

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- avian101 on August 14, 2015 at 11:36 pm said:
  
  Thank you Tom! 🙂
  
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clarepooley33 on August 14, 2015 at 7:34 pm said:

Really lovely set of photos HJ!

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- avian101 on August 14, 2015 at 11:36 pm said:
  
  Thanks Clare! 🙂
  
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aussiebirder on August 14, 2015 at 10:11 pm said:

I always love these kind of pics when they feed their young, thanks Avian!

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- avian101 on August 14, 2015 at 11:37 pm said:
  
  I’m glad you liked them! 🙂
  
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Birder's Journey on August 17, 2015 at 8:18 am said:

So glad you posted these photos just this week, HJ. I had seen a pair of Cardinals the other day in our wetlands. I wondered about the male, who looked especially scruffy. He was undoubtedly molting too.

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- avian101 on August 17, 2015 at 10:33 am said:
  
  That’s most likely the reason why he looked scruffy. Thank you for sharing Carol! 🙂
  
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Tiny on August 17, 2015 at 11:02 pm said:

Wonderful captures of the fatherly love, H.J. 🙂

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- avian101 on August 17, 2015 at 11:03 pm said:
  
  Thanks Tiny! 🙂
  
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bayphotosbydonna on August 23, 2015 at 9:10 am said:

loved this series, so endearing! 🙂

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- avian101 on August 23, 2015 at 10:34 am said:
  
  Thank you very much Donna! 🙂
  
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