The late afternoon sun lit up the runway (otherwise known as my back deck railing) and this gorgeous male model seemed pleased to pose for a few pictures. I love how his crown looks perfectly styled.
Then, just before sunset, I stepped into the front yard and found another male cardinal who had no objections to the clicking of my camera. This fellow was molting a bit, but he still looks quite handsome. Again, I think it’s the fanned out crown feathers that make him so captivating.
Good thing my hubby is secure and doesn’t mind that I spend my time with such attractive males!
Backyard Bird Nerd 
Simply stunning Kathy!
Thanks. The sunlight made him all the more stunning.
His “intermediate” plumage actually goes perfectly with his punk-rock star hairdo…. err, “featherdo”? 😉
Indeed it does!
beautiful – we have a bunch of these hotties around here too 🙂
They are so striking. I sometimes pretend like I am seeing them for the first time so I can catch my breath all over again. 🙂
Lovely photos, Kathy!
Thanks. 🙂
Love your Post Title and your Cardinal photos are a “10” in my opinion! 😊😊😊
I’m pretty sure they were singing, “I’m sexy and I know it!”
He’s got the ‘do and also the strut! I love them all ❤ 😀
He definitely had the strut and the pose perfected! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photography. The bird photos are stunning. You must have so much patience, and I really want to know what camera you use.. We don’t have Cardinals here in Oregon, so it’s nice to see other species. Where are you located? Thanks again. P.S. Is it ok to use your models for my doodles and painting attempts?
Thanks for the kind words. I use a Canon SX50HS (so easy to use!) for almost all of my bird pictures. It has good zoom.
I live in the outskirts of Atlanta and am blessed with a lot of birds that visit my feeders. And I would be honored if you drew, doodled, or painted any of my pictures. I figure, if God doesn’t mind my taking pictures of His handiwork, then I certainly don’t mind others using mine!
Wow, these are absolutely gorgeous!!! The red of his feathers looks even brighter in front of the green background!!! Stunning!!!
Perfectly precious and sweet! I love all these images — really wonderful!
Did you know you can mute your camera so it doesn’t make the clicking sound? I discovered this when I was messing around with the settings and I found it helped a lot when sitting on the porch snapping pictures, because the birds weren’t frightened away by the sound. Of course, it took me a bit to get used to the camera NOT making the shutter sound and at first I didn’t think it was actually taking photos! LOL I had forgotten I had turned the sound off and was like, “why isn’t this working???” Haha 😀
Yes – I am thankful for the mute button. I am pretty sure I stumbled across it by accident too. 🙂