Momma and Poppa cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) have raised and fledged one clutch, and I guess they are taking a short break. The last few times I’ve been outdoors watching the birds at the feeding station, they have flown in together, which they don’t usually do when there are eggs or nestlings in the nest. When they first started arriving together, I was able to capture this shot of Poppa feeding Momma. That is a common mating behavior, and I’ve seen them do it before, but I’ve not been able to catch it on film. Needless to say, I was pretty happy to finally be able to show how affectionate they can be with each other. Poppa may be a bit of a territorial bully to some of the other birds this time of year, but he’s always sweet to Momma.