“When cardinals appear, angels are near.”–Unknown
Tink, plink, tink. It’s 6:00 am, and the first light of the dawn is beginning to show. While the actual sunrise won’t occur for another 40-50 minutes, I hear the newest members of our neighborhood at it again. If this were a school day, I would have been awake. However, on this occasion, it is the weekend, and I typically give myself permission to sleep in until 6:00 or 6:30. Ugh!
Boink. Doink. Boink. The sound varies depending upon which room I am in. Persistent. Insistent. Relentless. All members of my household, human and feline, have moved from fascination to annoyance to down-right sympathy for our neighbor’s continuous need to pound, rattling both the living room picture window and the master bedroom window. Don’t they ever get tired?
Our newest neighbors moved in around the beginning of April. John, my husband, Maddie, our daughter, and me, did not really think much about them. Each couple, one across from the front of our house; and the other, across from the bedroom end of our house; seemed peaceful and pleasant enough. In fact, both pairs could often be heard singing to one another, especially during the first light of morning and the last light of evening. The practice seemed like such a romantic thing to do. Clearly, they were deeply in-love, or at the very least, highly infatuated with one another.
Furthermore, we couldn’t help but notice both males have a predilection for parading around dressed in bright red with flamboyantly styled hair. While their female partners dress more subduedly in colors of brown and buff, they do appear to try to complement their male counterparts by donning caps with red feathers and hints of red skirt their lower half. On an odd note, both couples seemed to only own black facial masks.
Not long after both couples moved in, we also noticed they each had the habit of dining outside. While that wasn’t particularly unusual, given the mildness of our early April weather, it was the habit of the males feeding the females that was most striking. In fact, it appeared as if they kissed first, allowing the female to take the food from the male’s mouth. What love birds both pairs appeared to be!
When their habit of banging around first began, the two pairs could be observed pounding away with great intent. This, hysterically, drew great attention from both of our lacidzical cats. Our feline companions could, with great regularity, be found wherever our neighbors could be seen industrially belting away–so curious were our cats’ desire to see our neighbors’ carrying-ons.
By the second week of April, however, it was only the male partners that appeared to knock around–not that we were truly keeping tabs on them. Meanwhile, their female partners were only occasionally detected outside of their new home. It was whispered that the females were holed up inside privately nesting. Although, it was reported that one couple, during this same week, was observed publicly engaged, in their odd practice of kissing-before-swapping-food-mouth-to-mouth.
As I write this during the third full week of April, both couples seemed to have somewhat settled. While the males can sometimes be heard plinking away, they are blessedly less active than when they first moved in. However, the tune of the pair’s vocalizations still fills the air at the day’s beginning and end. The rarely seen females can be heard from inside of their home singing a wide repertoire of choruses, while the male confidantes still proudly sing the same ol’ melody, over and over, right outside their home.
John, Maddie, and I recently stood at the front picture window looking out at one set of our newest neighbor’s home. Rumors were continuing to circulate regarding the state of the hidden females. Most fodder contended that due to all of the hanky-panky-dining-habits, both couples must be in the family-way. After all, what is to be expected from all of those acts of public display of affection and strange exchange of food? Bunch of granola-eating hippies if you ask one commentator!
Of course, John and Maddie, used to my crunchy, granola-eating, tree-hugging ways, seem to have come to terms with our newest neighbors who munch, mouth, and swap nuts, seeds, and berries.
“What’s one more plant-based eater in the neighborhood?” Maddie teases. “You can make friends with them, Mom. You know, swap recipes!”
John, more prone to roam the neighborhood, than Maddie and I, claims the latest tittle-tattle accuses both couples of sometimes eating insects and spiders.
“Supposedly, someone watched one of the males spewing an entire bug into the mouth of his partner.”
Maddie cringed with disgust. I quickly reminded her how some people do go on and on about things for which they have little to no knowledge.
“Yeah, but eating bugs is just, well, gross. And, I thought eating nuts and seeds was weird . . . .”
As Maddie walked away from the conversation, one of our new male neighbors determinedly drummed a window as if for effect. At this sound, I walked closer to the window and waved my arms above my head. I looked at him, as he moved towards his home. I am fairly certain that, since the windows were open, he could hear me through the screen, so I told him to stop.
“It’s like banging your head against the wall, Buddy. It’s not productive. Your partner needs your protection; I get it, but you’ve got no worries with us. We’re cool if you guys have kids out-of-official-wedlock. I mean, it’s my understanding that you and your partner have been together for life. The neighbors you’ve got to worry about aren’t us anyway. The more menacing neighbors are on the hills and in the woods around us.”
I thought he was listening. He cocked his head from one side to the other, keeping his black mask in place. (Boy, does he take this COVID crisis seriously.) However, right as I thought my message was getting through his tiny bird brain, (I hate to be rude, but seriously, our new neighbors are TOTAL bird brains.) he flitted away as if my words meant nothing to him.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you meet our hawkish neighbor on the hill!” I exclaim to him, but I am expending energy on one who doesn’t want to listen. Hmph! Just like a male to not accept advice.
I am not sure that I would call our newest neighbors angels, and in spite of their red wardrobe, I wouldn’t refer to them as devils either. One thing is for sure, from the looks of their homes, all bound up tightly like twigs of a nest, I think our new neighbors are here to stay for a while. Maybe Maddie is right, perhaps I should ask them for their granola recipe. After all, if it inspires all that kissing, it might be worth trying!
“Cardinals may protect a territory size of 1/2 to 6 acres during breeding season. Males will chase other males and females will chase other females from the pair’s territories. Cardinal birds often fight with their reflection in house windows and car mirrors.” –Wild-Bird-Watching.com
Steph Simply 