Posted a picture two weeks or so ago showing Mama Cardinal sitting on her nest in my jasmine vine. The vine is on a trellis at the end of my screen porch, so we have to take pictures through the screen. I apologize for the quality, but I’m not going to come at her the other way and scare her. Last weekend, Mark managed to get pics of two babies, reaching for food. Thought you might enjoy them. I sure do.
Needless to say, my poor cats have been banned from the back porch until the babies fledge. No glaring through the screen at them with their big, cat eyes! 🙂 They are not happy kitties, but they’ll survive. It won’t be a lot longer before the babies are leaving the nest. Sadly, baby birds fledge before they can fully fly, and spend a few days, running, hopping, and taking very short flights around the yard. They are super vulnerable during that time, but I’ll do my best to make sure the dogs don’t find them.
On the plus side, here in central Florida, cardinal pairs will raise several clutches of eggs and babies over the spring, summer, and fall. At least three, and sometimes four broods will be fed and nurtured, thus insuring that some of the babies do survive to be parents themselves one day.
Who's Your Granny? 
Reblogged this on Bookin' It and commented:
Baby Cardinals in my confederate jasmine vine. Just for fun! 🙂
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Thank you for sharing. They are beautiful.
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New life! What could be more beautiful! More songs for my garden, more flashes of cardinal red, zipping around the feeders, and looking for food for his family. Garden is full of butterflies today, too. Life is good! 🙂 Nice to see you here, Felix! Thanks for stopping by.
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That’s awesome! I love seeing that picture!
Mark had mockingbird babies in a shrub at the front of his house, and we would take tentative peeks at them. They grew up fast! It seemed like only a few weeks ago they were beautiful pale blue little eggs. Last week, they were big babies with feathers, but they were definitely babies. They looked a bit grumpy all crammed together in the tiny nest. Now they’re already gone.
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I noticed yesterday the mother wasn’t on the nest when I would look. She wasn’t there this morning either, so I went out and checked, and sure enough, the nest is empty. I hope they have fledged, and nothing got them. Mockingbirds are notorious for fledging before they can do more than hop and run. They are so vulnerable for that couple of days while they are learning to fly to safety. We just have to cross our fingers and hope for the best. It’s fun to watch them raise their young, isn’t it?
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What lovely birds! Cardinals are one of my favourites – they’re so beautiful, yes? 🙂
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Yes, they are, Topaz. I’m lucky to have a lot of them in my garden, and I enjoy them at my bird feeders all year long. They are the first birds to sing in the morning, and the last ones to stop singing at night, too. And their song is lovely, as well. My babies have all fledged now, and left the nest. I’m wondering if the parents will use it again with their next brood, or start over in a different spot. My Carolina wrens are nesting now, too, and the bluejay babies fledged about two weeks ago. Birds are so active this time of year. Thanks for stopping by today. Nice to “hear” from you. 🙂
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Oh, I wish I could be there! Living in Singapore, I’m afraid we don’t get the same kinds of birds as when we were in the US and I sorely miss checking the bird feeder every afternoon and seeing all the “regulars” who stopped by. 😉
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Oh, but surely there are different wonderful birds there, too??? Birds are so diverse all over the world, and every area has something to offer, I think. Have you tried feeders to see what might come? Even in urban areas, most places have some birds who have adapted.
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