A Cardinal In The Water

I've been seeing so many birds lately, especially cardinals, but they've almost all been in trees or up high somewhere. Seeing this cardinal was a rare treat because it was on the ground splashing in the water. The only birds of this size I usually see on the ground are robins. Most birds don't seem very comfortable down this low.

When I found this cardinal, there were many more flying around and calling to each other through the trees. I saw this one swoop down out of a big tree and onto this small runoff stream. The stream becomes a small creek every spring, but then dries up for the rest of the year. It's one of the smaller sources for Carpenter Lake.

With all of the grass and weeds in the way, I couldn't get very good pictures of the cardinal. But they are still valuable to me because they capture the cardinal living its life. Anyone can get a good shot of a bird that is posed in a tree, but an action shot like this is a rare moment that really shows something interesting.

Something like this is almost as good as following it around to study its behavior. The behavior of an animal is what becomes the interesting part after you've seen them more than a few times. What motivates an animal? Why does it do what it does? That's what I like to see.

I featured this very subject about squirrels yesterday. Not many people would stop to think about squirrel behavior. Most want to look at big dangerous or exotic animals to study. But what about the animals that we can find by going out our own back door? They are easier for you and me to watch, and they are just as wild as any other animal. And every bit as interesting if you pay attention to them.

I watch these animals as if I were playing a video game. Have you ever seen those games where you walk around and shoot monsters or other strange creatures? I get to do the same thing, except I use a camera instead of a gun. I've faced creatures just as big as most video game monsters. I admit my game is more peaceful than a video game because I don't kill anything, but it's also more unpredictable. The best thing of all is that my game is real.

The cardinal in this picture is one of my prizes for playing the game. Most video gamers don't get to keep pictures of their conquered foes like this. The best thing is that I don't consider any of these animals my enemy. Each and every one is at the time my dearest friend. Every time an animal lets me take its picture, I make sure I thank it for the honor. Really!

I like video games, but I like nature even more. Nature is real. Nature is our life. Nature is what we are.

And I like experiencing nature in action, like this little cardinal splashing in the water.