Strange Forest Cardinal

Sometimes you find certain animals in the strangest places. I found this male cardinal in the very middle of the forest, walking around on the forest floor. It was one of the oddest experiences I've had. I knew there was a bird in that area, but I had no idea what I would find or where I would find it.

Even though the pictures look sort of bright, it was actually very dark in the forest where I was. I kept hearing a bird call that sounded different than I've ever heard. It was an odd pinging sound. I've heard cardinals before, but they never sounded like this. I knew I was hearing a bird, but I thought it was a new one for me.

The sound echoed through the forest in a very eerie way that made it hard to tell just exactly where it was coming from. I knew the general area, but I couldn't tell really from what height it was coming from. Then I began hearing small rustling sounds on the ground. I guess that may be why I didn't know the height, because it was so unexpected. Usually only robins go to the forest floor.

But then I spotted a flash of red in the shadows behind some of the plants. I had to tell myself more than once that I was really seeing what I thought I saw. Not only was it a cardinal, but it was spying on me from behind the plants. I actually watched as it would hide and then peek out at me. It did this several times.

Here it is peeking out at me. I guess now that I write this that it might be assumed that the bird was somehow injured, but that never occurred to me at the time. It acted perfectly healthy, and it even flew around a bit. No injury there.

I still kept watching for that pinging sound though. It didn't sound like it was coming from the floor of the forest. I kept looking up into the trees. Finally, a I studied this cardinal some more, I saw that it was indeed the creature that was making that odd sound. It was somehow projecting its voice up and away from it. Maybe more deception?

It seemed after a few minutes that this cardinal was making these sounds for my benefit. I don't know whether it was trying to communicate with me or it was trying to trick me into going away. Either way, it kept looking at me as if it was talking right to me.

After awhile it finally grew tired of this game and flew away to another part of the forest. Maybe I missed something significant here. Maybe it was a magical bird that wanted to grant me a wish or give me riches beyond my wildest dreams. A once in a lifetime chance, and I blew it by not being smart enough to understand a birdbrain. Oh well. Better luck next time with the next magical wish granting bird.


Nature Center Magazine - Find out what site Emma is featuring today in her Nature Site Of The Week. I know you're all nature lovers, otherwise you wouldn't be here. So go see what she has for you. Don't miss out like I did with that bird.