June-The Changing Seasons V2
June Haiku (Molt)
Heavy heat of June
Revealing new, shedding old
Feathering the days
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This young Cardinal is in the midst of change. His beak is orange, not black, which means he is not a fluffy fledgling like I first thought. I think it is a young male, within a year old, that is molting, shedding baby feathers to reveal red feathers. From what I have read, the juvenile male Cardinal looks much like the more drab female until he is a year old. Then, he goes through the molting process to become bright red! This was news to me and I have never observed it before. I also learned that all Cardinals go through a molting stage around the end of summer, shedding worn feathers in preparation for new. Isn’t nature amazing?
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This is my Version 2 entry into Cardinal Guzman’s Changing Seasons Challenge. Check out his blog for other interpretations of the theme and think about joining us in the challenge! You can see my previous entries by clicking on the Changing Seasons header at the top of my page. You can click on the Birds header at the top of the page for more bird posts too.
Posted on June 28, 2016, in birds, Observations, Photography, The Changing Seasons and tagged #thechangingseasons, bird photography, cardinals, feathers, June, molt, photography, the changing seasons. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
Kewl ShoT! 🙂
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Thanks! Glad it’s to your liking!
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A cardinal for Cardinal’s challenge. Perfect. And what a cutie.
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Exactly my thoughts Desley. A Cardinal for the Cardinal’s challenge. 😀
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Yes! You have a namesake!
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Great minds CG. 😊
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That’s right! Thanks, Desley!
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This little guy is a cutie, for sure.
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He really is, Lois. I’m trying to watch out for him again!
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Cardinals look so different when molting, I remember the first one I saw. I could not figure out what kind of bird it was. So I got on the web and learned it was a cardinal molting. That is a really great capture of that little one making changes.
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I had to look it up too! This is my first year of really, watching birds. they are amazing, aren’t they?
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