Male Cardinal

this is a male northern cardinal in my back yard.. i hope you like

it :)

While it's exciting to get a bird picture, especially if it's the first time for that particular bird, you still have to have all the elements in place to make it be considered a good composition. This one has a few strikes against it, unfortunately. The bird is very small compared to the rest of the composition and has its back to the camera. It has a stick growing out of its head. The background is distracting. This said, I hope you won't give up. Get some deluxe birdseed, with peanuts and cherries in it, and put some feeders around your yard. If you are consistent putting out the seed and you're willing to have the patience to sit and wait for the birds to appear, you'll be able to get some great shots of these birds and probably many others, too.

Get closer and move so you don't have such a noticable backdrop (either no roof at all, or the entire frame filled with a blur.) The roof is a distraction