Lessons from a Cardinal

I'm a big fan of the website www.birdingpal.org.  I've used the website to solicit help while traveling and I've been contacted a few times by birders visiting my home area.  Most birders just want information on hotspots but I was able to take one couple birding.

They were in town for the wedding of a niece.  Carol and George hailed from Seattle.  They've been birding for about 10 years but never ventured beyond Washington and Oregon.  I picked them up at their hotel.  There were many birds singing in the little undeveloped green space next to the hotel.  Carol suddenly asked about a distinctive call.  My answer was "it's just a cardinal".  The next thing you know, I'm practically being trampled by a couple of baby boomers clad in muted colors.  That's when it came to me, cardinals aren't found in Seattle.  Never get between a birder and a life bird, even when the bird in question is very common to you.