It's no surprise that I love viewing nature as most of you my friends do as well. I have been watching a sweet little bird come and go at my feeder for a couple of months now and I'm concerned. It's been difficult catching him with my camera as he is quite cautious and flits about nervously.
I had to do some research to try to figure out what is going on with this male cardinal. As you can see he has no feathers on his head like his other brothers.
It appears that he is molting, but the timing should have solved that issue by now. Usually when a bird molts he has his feathers grow back fairly quickly. Upon further investigation I read that bird experts don't agree as to why this happens.
These experts believe it is possibly from parasites. There really is nothing I can do to help! Some experts also believe it could be from trauma. I really feel bad for him as the ladies don't take kindly to him because of his looks! Some ornithologists also think it could be genetic. Whatever the reason this little guy still visits us at the feeder occasionally. I wish him well and hope his feathers will grow back. If you have ever seen a cardinal like him I'd like to know. I've seen cardinals molting before, but never like this one.
On another topic Grayden was able to power wash our patio rug. With his health issues the last couple of years a lot of jobs that he normally takes care of have been delayed.
As you can see this rug was filthy! I told Grayden we needed to buy another one as this would never get clean. Boy, was I wrong!
Grayden has a small power washer that worked great on this really dirty rug!
He was able to wash this rug on the front and the back so we were able to put it on our patio again. Our concrete patio floor gets hot and this rug helps with that and anchors our patio table and chairs.
We are supposed to get cooler temperatures tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to enjoy our cleaned up patio rug as we watch the birds. Maybe the sweet little bald cardinal with pay us a visit.
Thank you for stopping by, my friends. I hope your day gives you joy!
Hello, I saw your blog on Mrs. White's sidebar. : )
ReplyDeletePoor little cardinal! I have a special love for birds and especially little cardinals. I'll pray for the little fella.
You have a lovely blog here.
Blessings to you! ~Amelia My Forest Cathedral blog
Thank you for stopping by, Amelia. It's nice to meet another bird lover.
DeleteLinda ave. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteEs hermoso a pesar de tener problemas. Gracias por pasar.
DeleteThat was a wonderful transformation for that outdoor rug. It does anchor the table nicely. Happy to read that you will have some cooling. Take care!
ReplyDeleteToday is so much cooler Ellen. I wish the same for you!
DeleteGrayden did a great job of your rug. It's looks brand new. It's a very clever idea to lay one down to cut down on the heat. I never thought of that. It's cooler here also but is still 87 degrees. F. and the humidity is only 41 percent. We need to power wash a few things around here and it's on the ever-growing list :) We have moss that grows on the side of the house and the HOA told us off a while back, so there's that to consider. Personally I don't think it was that bad, but we try to keep it down. Gregg does quite well on the lower parts, but for higher up we're going to have to get a professional. Ah well! I was interested in your little bird and the molting thing. We had one, a female, with a totally bald head. It seemed to take forever for her to grow feathers, but I think they were coming back before I stopped the feeding outside. I appreciate you going the extra mile and researching this more. I had always thought it was a molting thing and didn't realize there were other explanations as I stopped looking after finding out about the molting issue. Enjoy your weekend Martha Ellen :)
ReplyDeleteDenise, we were both so pleased that the patio rug is still able to be used. Grayden had power washed the patio a couple of months back. We're happy to have shade in the afternoon on this patio, but mold wants to grow rather quickly there. We understand about mold growing on the north side of our home too. We had to have someone else do that job like you say.
DeleteUnfortunately I have not seen our sweet little bald cardinal the last couple of days. I do hope he is okay. I admit I've worried about him.
Enjoy your weekend as well Denise!
It never stops does it? Our humid climate has quite an impact too. I also hope your little cardinal will be okay, and all that's happening is its molting stage. fingers crossed :)
DeleteThere is always something that needs doing for sure, Denise. Good news--I saw the little cardinal on the swing this morning! Fingers crossed here too--thank you!
DeleteThat's too bad about the little red cardinal. I hope he is Ok. I've never heard of molting before, and learned something today. It's so nice that you greet the birds on your patio daily, Martha Ellen. I saw a sweet trail of California Quail on my lawn today and just watched the funny birds. That's great that Grayden cleaned the patio rug. That power washing really does wonders, and having contractors in my family, they have used the BIG power washers to clean the whole house! This small one is perfect for Grayden to use. Your patio looks very nice, Martha Ellen.
ReplyDelete~Sheri
Sheri, I'm not sure what is going on with the bald cardinal. We haven't seen him for a couple days and that worries me. Hopefully we have just missed him. That's so neat you saw quail on your lawn today. We don't see them here. I hope you took pictures! You are lucky to have family members that have those large power washers. When we need those for big jobs we have to hire someone. We have been enjoying the patio all clean now! Have a nice weekend Sheri!
DeleteI've never seen one like that before -- it's a pity as he's a lovely bird. And I'm afraid I have no suggestions. But as long as he seems healthy and is with the others, that, at least, is a plus. kWell done for Grayden and the patio rug. It looks like new!
ReplyDeleteJeanie, this little guy seems to fly about healthy, but I'm afraid he pretty much keeps to himself. I'm afraid he's an ugly duckling to his fellow birds. We were quite happy that the rug didn't need to be replaced.
DeleteBeautiful post
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rajani Rehana.
DeleteThis condition is not entirely unusual in Northern Cardinals; Blue Jays seem to be similarly afflicted. As you indicate a definitive reason is hard to come by, but I would lean towards a parasitic overload. It seems only to affect the head in this manner. I don’t recall seeing birds like this in winter so it appears to be seasonal.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts on this issue, David. Notice the hole that appears on his face under the eyes. Not sure what is going on with that. I've never seen this on Northern Cardinals or Blue Jays. I appreciate a bird lover's view especially. Hopefully it will be only a seasonal problem that will correct itself.
DeleteBeautiful birds.
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
I am so glad that Grayden is feeling well enough to catch up on chores! That is a victory! The clean rug was certainly a success! God bless that little bald cardinal!
ReplyDeleteJust this morning we were talking about how very thankful that Grayden is doing better. He's had a couple of rough years, but is now getting his strength back.
DeleteI saw the little bald cardinal day before yesterday and he appears to be okay.