And Baby Makes Three? Or Four?

Hurrah!  Just a little while ago, Rhett and Scarlett brought a baby to the bird feeding area outside our kitchen window!  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here to read the story first).

Last evening, I was out for awhile and when I got home, my husband said the Cardinals had been at the feeder and had a baby with them.  So, today, I watched for them whenever I was near the window.  Off and on, I saw the adult Cardinals, but no baby.  However, I know that Cardinals often feed quite late in the day.  I kept watching even as it was getting dark.  My patience was rewarded!

7:10 pm

Above is Scarlett at the sunflower seed feeder.  Then came Rhett.

Those two photos show you how it really was getting dark.  The next group of photo have been lightened quite a bit.

The first one shows the mother with her reddish-orange bill.  The baby is below and behind her.

You can tell an immature Cardinal from a female by its dark gray bill.

These are the best pictures I got of the baby:

In this shot, you can see its gray bill pretty well.

And, finally, the only shot I got of the three of them together:

My husband thinks there could be another immature Cardinal, because the one he saw last night didn't seem to have much of a tail, while the one I saw does.  

I'll be keeping my eye out for all of them!

A Choose Your Own Ending Story

Every story needs a beginning, a middle, and an ending.  I've been wanting to write this story for awhile, but I've been hoping I could wrap it up with a great ending.  That hasn't happened, but I decided to go ahead with the story anyway and let you choose an ending.

The story begins with two Northern Cardinals.  Both very beautiful and talented, they fell in love... got married, and wanted to have children.  Unfortunately, as so often happens, that was a struggle.  I'm not sure of the details of their story before I meet them, but they were still trying to have babies in August, which is rather late in the nesting season.  But Cardinals have been known to have up to six nests in a single season, most of which are replacements after failed tries. 

Our leading male, whom we'll call Rhett (and the female will be Scarlett) helped by bringing some nesting materials, but Scarlett did the actual building of the nest by herself.  The location, which they chose together, was in a lilac bush. 

It was a lovely location if you like flowers, but perhaps not the greatest choice otherwise.  You see, there were people who lived quite close by.  Even a lady who occasionally looked out a window only a few feet from the nest.  Still, they were mostly hidden from prying eyes in the top, thickest clump of leaves.

Scarlet settled in on August 14th.  Rhett sometimes sang to keep her company and check to see if she was hungry.  She sat.... and sat...

...sometimes took a short break, then went back to sit some more.

She knew Rhett was always nearby.  Sometimes she even sang back to him.  Finally, on August 24th, she had babies to feed instead of eggs to sit on.

Scarlet and Rhett both searched the garden for good bugs to feed their children, and were feeling lucky that the lady who lived in the house decided to put some sunflower seed out for themselves to eat.  That made life a bit easier.

Although August 25th was rainy and cold, so the babies (there were two) were hungrier than ever and had to be kept dry, too.

Scarlett in the rain

Rhett and Scarlett both flitted in and out of the lilac bush bringing food as best they could.

Not sure what kind of caterpillar or insect Scarlett was bringing this time (this was not the easiest story to photograph!).

The babies grew very quickly.  Though they are mostly hidden from view, on August 26th, they looked like this:

Two days later we still can't see much.

Nor can we on August 29th.

By this time, Scarlet and Rhett were looking a little worn out! 

It's hard to take care of newborns and keep up your appearance, although they were probably molting, too.

But they were committed to each other and to their family.  They kept the food coming and watched over their nest. 

Finally on August 30th, only 9 or 10 after hatching, the first baby left the nest.  Baby number two waited a little bit longer, and it happened that the lady from the house was watching.

This lady had been very careful not to disturb the Cardinal family, but she was happy to be able to see the little one for a few moments as it hopped around in the bush.

What she didn't expect was for the young Cardinal to make its first flight right over to the railing and to land a couple of feet from her.

Well, hello!!!

"Chirp, chirp!"

Rhett and Scarlett must have been attending baby #1 or off having something to eat, because they weren't scolding either this baby or the lady for being so close to each other.

"I don't have much tail yet, but I'll grow one soon".

The lady was wondering what she should do.  She hadn't moved a muscle since the baby landed there except to press the shutter button on her camera.

Then the baby flew the few feet back to the lilac bush, so everything was okay.

That was the last time the lady saw the babies.  Rhett and Scarlett have been stopping by at her bird feeder in the early morning and late evening for a quick bite to eat.  

What is the ending to the story?

Cardinal parents usually feed the babies for about 10 days or so after they fledge -- longer the later it is in the season.  It's been longer than 10 days for these birds, but it's also quite late in the season, so maybe they will still come to the bird feeders, too?  Or maybe they have been victims of the Sharp-shinned Hawk who has been hanging around the yard?  Something else could have happened to them... there are many dangers out there for young birds. 

Seeing a young Cardinal at my bird feeder would be a happy ending.  For now, though, the whereabouts of the babies remains a mystery.  

Rhett's not talking.

 

Catching Up with Our Cardinals

Some of you may remember the story of the Northern Cardinals which nested by our house this summer.  Click here if you don't, because that story comes before this one.  

Two babies fledged from the nest on July 5th.  So, when I started seeing a female Cardinal feeding two immature ones near our bird feeders on October 3rd, I was quite interested.  Could these possibly be the same birds that were in the nest just outside our window in June? 

I really don't know.  I mean, I've heard of human 'helicopter parents' but Cardinals? (If anyone happens to read this who knows how long Cardinals take care of their babies, please comment!)

Anyway, I have no way of knowing if these are the same birds or a later brood, but I enjoyed watching them so I thought I'd share.

Here they are... in the rain, on October 3rd.  The 'baby' on the right was fluttering its wings for all it was worth, making sure its mother knew it was hungry!

 She was diligently feeding it.

The other young one was nearby, too.  Seriously, the 'babies' were both big enough to feed themselves.

Mama is in the back, notice she has a red bill.  The youngsters both have dark grey bills.  Their bills will get red as they get older. 

Here's the family on October 5th:

She was still feeding them.  (At least it wasn't raining!)

They posed for portraits again for me on October 8th:

 As you can see, they are a close-knit family.  (Well, except for Papa, who is probably around somewhere, too).

The mother was still feeding them on October 9th, when I shot this video:

But, finally, by the 17th, they seemed to be on-their-own.

At least, eating on-their-own... Mama was still close by!

 You did a very good job taking care of your babies Mama!