cardinal watching

I saw a pair of cardinals today in our cedar tree and by the time I had the camera in hand, they were both sitting on the same branch and she was opening her beak and he was placing something in it.  Then as I powered up the camera, it showed an error message and I lost my opportunity. Boohoo.

I have only seen the male cardinal feed her one other time several years ago when they were both sitting on our back fence.  I didn't realize that male cardinals will feed their mate throughout their mating season, so I was surprised to see him feeding her this late in August.  I first noticed them a few days ago when I heard an unfamiliar chirping/tweeting sounds coming from our cedar tree.  So I stood perfectly still by our back patio screen and watched and listened.  A minute or two passed and I could see both of the cardinals.  I only managed to get a picture of him from that day.  But I will keep trying.

After a quick internet search, I found this great image of a male cardinal feeding his mate taken by a photographer from Ohio.