Cardinals are crepuscular, meaning active in low light levels, light early and late. Today and earlier this week that meant light dim and early, the birds flitting across the grim duotoned landscape in the backyard. I took my first look at the feeders at 7:10 this morning, first light for me. Counting the birds is difficult; they move. I could account for eight at one moment. Two mornings ago we had a dozen eating sunflower seeds out there. They move from our cluster of four tube feeders to the roofed platform feeder to a cedar tree that completes a tight dining triangle. The number of birds has been building since early November. Four or five has grown to at least 12. They come and go, moving between our feeders and those in the yard of the neighbor to our north. Both yards are well wooded, offering shelter in the shrubs and bushes (and that cedar) for birds wanting to be less visible when contemplating eating or chopping at a seed nipped up and carried back to the tree. One morning last year we had 17 cardinals here. That's our record. Two juncoes also were here at first look this morning; they're often early. I saw chickadees after about five minutes of watching this morning, and 13 minutes after pulling back the covers and peering out the windows I watched two Downy Woodpeckers come to the suet we hang from a nearby tree trunk (encased in half-inch hardware cloth to limit depredation by crows and raccoons).When I look out the window now, at 7:55, the cardinals are gone, replaced by three Blue Jays. The photo is of a cardinal in that cedar tree. It was taken on a sunny day, certainly not this morning.