Cardinal on the east side

For me, one of the hardest things about moving is leaving behind the bird community that I established. When moving from the west side to the east side of Tucson, I left a cardinal that I could always count on to be one of the first visitors at the feeder in the morning, and the last one at the fountain at night.

After moving, it took about two months, but finally a pair of cardinals arrived. When not snacking at the feeder, the male likes to hang out in the staghorn chollas (a type of cactus) in the back yard, and he's stunning in the midst of the desert colors. I've been trying to get a good picture of him in the cholla because it's such a nice juxtaposition to the "traditional" shot of a cardinal in an evergreen. (Think Christmas cards.) But this is the desert, baby!

Male cardinal in the cholla against the late afternoon sun.
When I snapped this picture, I was so focused on getting the cardinal in the shot, I hadn't realized there was also a house finch and a lesser goldfinch in the picture!

Male cardinal in the cholla in the morning light.