June 8, 2016

cardinal fledglings


A few days ago, I stepped out onto the back porch and I heard a deafening chirping chorus. I soon realized that it was coming from the holly tree next to porch. Upon further examination, we discovered a nest about 7 feet up, in the middle of the tree. The husband ran to get the selfie stick and stuck it into the tree with his phone attached and took a photo. And the above photo is what we saw! 

Can you believe these baby birds?! I right away knew they had to be cardinals because of the Papa cardinal swooping and chirping at us in a scolding manner closely nearby. 

The babies were so puny and scrawny... They looked like plucked chickens.
Kind of a yuck factor, honestly, but they're so fascinating that it doesn't matter.

I couldn't have been more than three days and we had fluffy fledgling cardinals practicing their flying all over the front and back yards! That was yesterday, and today they are gone. It's amazing how quickly wild animals must develop and grow in order to survive.

Here is an article I found to be interesting while reading up on cardinals: 


It has a more detailed account of the nesting, hatching, and feeding process. It's really remarkable what goes on daily in nature that we are completely oblivious to.







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