The male cardinal, in my opinion, is one of the most striking birds out there—and they're usually sitting in the trees behind the house.

This one perched long enough for me to really take him in, maybe twenty feet away at most. The bright reflection off the leaves behind him helped separate his head from the background, but honestly, he didn't need much help. Cardinals have a way of standing out no matter where they land.

The Red StandoutA male Northern Cardinal perches on a thin diagonal branch, his vivid red plumage highlighted by a patch of lighter background that makes his head pop from the frame. Around him, the rest of the scene softens into a haze of green tones.📸 In nature’s palette, few colors speak as boldly as red.

The female cardinal is a little different.

She doesn't grab your attention the same way. Her colors are softer, with hints of red mixed into the gray. She's easy to overlook if you're only looking for the bright red male, but once you stop and really look, she's every bit as beautiful.

Profile in GreenA female Northern Cardinal perches quietly, her form framed by out-of-focus greenery and branches in both foreground and background. A classic profile portrait that highlights her natural poise within the scene.📸 Sometimes the truest portraits are the simplest views.

Then there's the goldfinch.

Bright yellow against a simple branch, almost glowing against the green. There's nothing subtle about him. He practically announces himself.

Branch of GoldA bright yellow Goldfinch perches on a thin diagonal branch, framed by two crossing twigs on either side. Behind it, an out-of-focus wash of green leaves and brown trunks softens the scene, letting the songbird’s color shine.📸 Even the smallest birds can carry the brightest light.

The funny thing is, every one of these photographs was taken from my back deck.

Before COVID, I probably wouldn't have given these birds much thought. We had bird feeders, so I'd seen hundreds of cardinals over the years, but I never really stopped to appreciate just how striking they are.

When everything shut down during the first COVID quarantine, I was looking for something to keep me busy. I started taking my camera out onto the deck. Being up a little higher gave me a nice view into the trees, and it turned out to be a pretty good place to wait and see who stopped by.

What started as a way to pass the time ended up changing how I looked at my own backyard.

It's easy to think great wildlife photography means traveling somewhere exotic. Sometimes it does.

But sometimes it's been sitting just outside your back door all along.

If one of these visitors catches your eye, prints of all three photographs are available by clicking on the images above.