The breeding season is always a busy and stressful time for birds. This is especially true for dominant males in any area, but especially in an area high in resources. Poppa cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is one of those very busy guys right now. With the feeding station here, stocked with both food and water (which has been an exceptionally important resource this spring), keeping the other cardinals at bay is a tiring job. Now, not only is he working to keep outside birds away, but he is also working at driving off his own offspring. He and Momma are working on their second clutch, which means that the young from the first clutch need to go find their own territories. Unfortunately for Poppa, quite a few of them don’t want to go, so he is having to chase them away at every opportunity. One of the youngsters was eating on the ground when I spotted Poppa on his way. The fledgling also spotted him and took off with Poppa close behind. I feel badly for the fledglings, but I also feel badly for Poppa. But this is nothing new here. It’s the way of the world and has led to this species being highly successful.