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| Mr Cardinal ~ or as he has become fondly referred of late 'DADDY CARDINAL' |
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| 'MOM' Cardinal... who is VERY camera shy!! (this is a glimps of their humble abode in our Rose of Sharon at then end of our Summer Porch!) |
The beginning of June we started watching the pair of Cardinals, building their nest at the end of our porch, did our research to learn what we could about the Cardinals...
and as you can expect, over the next few weeks we became VERY attached to our 'extended family'!
Needless to say, we were not quite so happy when started to discover just how rapidly our family was growing as others detected the 'impending eggs'...
One early Saturday morning, just a few days after the babies (two of them!) had hatched, I went outside, as usual... went past the nest to say 'Good Morning' (don't ask!)... they were gone. I was. so. bummed.
I called to J.
'They're gone.'
We both searched the ground under the nest.
gone.
8-(
J continued to look around the house...
He FINALLY found one safely tucked inside of another small bush toward the front of the house...
Overnight they had learned how to fly!!! Well, kinda 8-)... they were still mighty unsteady! We spent the morning watching them zip-zap around the yard with Mom & Dad close by their sides keeping larger birds away.
This went on for a couple of days, now our 'babies are gone', nest is abandonded... Mom/Dad are still bopping around - I think they may be working on their second 'batch' for the season. 8-) I love the fact that Cardinals mate for life!The nest was too high up in the tree for me to see in, and I was kinda squeamish of what I might see... so I made J hold his camera up there and just take a photo, so he could preview and then just show me... (how's that for some logic?!!) He took a couple of photos before he got a clear shot, he looked, shook his head and said "I shouldn't show you." I was afraid it was a baby that didn't make it...
Kinda, but J just didn't want to show me because he knew that I was going to want to rescue this 'PERFECT, abandoned little egg, with no chance of ever hatching and keep it as a remembrance of our little 'bird family'.
He knows me too well.
GOOD JOB MR & MRS CARDINAL!!
2 comments:
I loved your post on the cardinals, and the beautiful pictures! Here in Louisville, the cardinals are plentiful, but they are truly beautiful and I never tire of seeing them. And, you'll find, once a family has nested, they will continue to return, season after season.
We had a Mama robin make a nest n a very low and weak branch. A huge windstorm and rain came up and the nest was in danger. We managed to move it to a safer location higher in the sturdy part of the tree. I insisted on checking on it every hour for the next few days and that is exactly how I did it - held the camera high above my head and clicked away. They are gone now, but I am considering using the next in a wreath or something. Your baby cardinal was certainly cute!
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