There’s a saying “cardinals appear when an angel is near” I couldn’t find where this quote came from so I think it’s probably a motivational quote version of creepypasta1. Even with that I think about it every time I see cardinals, especially since losing my grandparents who were both bird watchers. Especially since in the past few years it seems I’m going to more funerals and fewer weddings and baby showers. Is that how you know you’ve finished growing up?
I’ve been seeing a lot of cardinals lately, on afternoon walks with the dog, outside the window while I work, on the arduous trip to check the mail while not wearing a coat in the dead of winter. I’ll see that telltale flash of red and wonder who’s angel is nearby… mine? Or maybe just the neighbors.
I’m not sure if you know but cardinals (male ones of course) are brighter red in the winter. In late summer cardinals molt and their new feathers are tipped with gray, as late fall turns into late winter these gray tips wear off and they become more and more red. It makes me think of the lyrics in June Hymn by the Decemberists:
A barony of ivy in the trees
Expanding out its empire by degrees
And all the branches burst abloom
In the boom
Heaven sent this cardinal maroon
To decorate our living room
I think I’ll just keep singing this song until June actually does come.
If you’re interested in bird watching in the Broome County area or (like me) are just crawling out of your skin for something to get you through these last months of winter, check out The Naturalists’ Club of Broome County, NY at www.naturalistsclub.org. They don’t seem to be doing any meetings anymore (RE: Pandemic), but their site has some good resources to help you get started in the area.
1 Creepypastas are horror stories that have been copied and pasted around the Internet so often that no one knows where they originated anymore.
