Meet the New Lady Cardinal

Last July, our mated pair of cardinals was split asunder. The original lady cardinal was killed on the road, and we held a sad but lovely memorial service and buried her in our yard. The male cardinal was inconsolable. His heartbroken cries echoed through our yard, inside our home.

A while later, a new lady moved in. Eventually, the male began to court her. Now they have a nest in the front rhododendron bush just outside our big living room window. The male's cheerful cries can be heard all over our acre and inside our house. Spring is here, and he is proclaiming his devotion to his new love!

Now comes the drama. Last night, around dusk, the nest - with the lady cardinal in it - suffered a terrible attack by robins. My husband and the neighbor kitty LGK were on the front porch, watching and listening in horror, as the robins flew in and repeatedly and viciously attacked, as though from all directions at once.

There were three or four robins involved. Eventually the attackers left, and the female cardinal was still on the nest, making sad little peeping sounds. We checked on her last evening and today, and she seems okay. We do not know the status of the eggs. 

The robins showed up again in force around dusk on this day, but my husband stood very close to the living room window, and that scared some of them off. He made himself look very big, and sternly GLARED at the rude birds. "Look, two of them are fleeing!" I said, as the robins flew off.

We wish we could protect the lady cardinal and her nest, but there isn't much reward involved in getting involved in bird wars in the yard. Still, we wish her the best. Also: to withstand all of that, she must be tougher than all the rest! So here is a photo of her in the front rhododendron bush, with pink azalea blooms behind her. You rock, lady cardinal!

Now, I find that I have TWO soundtrack songs to go with this photo and story. First, for the lady cardinal who protected her nest at all costs, I've got Bruce Springsteen and crew, with Tougher Than the Rest. 

And for the man standing by the window, which is to say, MY GUY, our hero, making himself look as big as possible, watching over the nest (and fighting a serious desire to go out and b*tch-slap some robins - but c'mon, you just can't go around slapping birds!), I've got Chrissie and the Pretenders, with I'll Stand By You.