Our Baby Cardinals

by Debby Anderson
(Minneapolis, MN)

I have a fall wreath that is hung up outside on the house next to the back door. I didn't take the wreath down and change it out with the Christmas wreath this year, I just left it up.

I noticed one day that a cardinal was flying in and out of the wreath. I didn't think much of it at the time, but a few weeks later I heard a faint little chirp coming from the wreath.

I stood up on a chair and peeked in the wreath and saw 4 little balls of fuzz all huddled together!

I knew then that the cardinal was making a nest and calling the wreath her home.

As days went on I peeked in the nest seeing the day to day changes of the babies. After about 2 weeks the mama was making her daily visits to feed her babies.

It was so fun to watch from a distance, seeing the babies mouths wide open just hungry as can be.

It was even more interesting when sitting on the patio right beneath the wreath and seeing the mother cardinal in the tree "talking" to us.

We thought hmmm, is she telling us to get off the patio because it's feeding time now? Was she being protective because we were so close to that wreath?

She really chirped up a storm! After we went into the house I went to the bedroom window that looks out to the wreath and low and behold, the mother went zooming into the wreath to check her babies! It was so interesting to watch and see how they care for their babies.

Just last night we were looking into the nest and two of the four babies were left. Clearly two had left the nest and the two remaining had a look on their face that they were ready to fly too.

I started to make some chirping noises and they chirped back and about 30 minutes later, there went one of the babies! Now there was one left. It started to thunder and rain so we went into the house wondering was that last baby going to leave the nest too?

This morning the sun was shining bright - It was a beautiful cool Spring morning and when I left to go to work I peeked in the nest and it's empty!

I really enjoyed the time that I was able to see the start of the nest building to the babies flying off to start their life!

Female Cardinal And Front Door

by Carrol Betts
(Chiefland, FL)

Today we heard a loud thump, something hitting the front door. As my husband Terry went to investigate, he discovered a little female cardinal had hit the glass on the front door.

He picked the cardinal up, she seemed a little disoriented but not injured. After several minutes of petting her, he handed her to me and I started stroking her. (I think she was enjoying the attention.).

After several minutes had passed, she was able to fly on her own. She headed for the front tree. I checked on her to make sure she was ok. She was able to join the rest of her family. She seems fine. Today was a good day.

Moderator Edit

See Cardinals and Windows for more information on this behavior.

The Parent Cardinal

by Sandra Santee
(Texas,Hill Country)

I have read a lot of articles about baby birds.

Lots of baby birds in nest and lots of stories about parents feeding or not feeding baby birds.

Ever wonder what happens to the babies after they leave the nest? Do they just become red Cardinals?

For the last two years I have been watching a pair of Cardinals raise babies in my yard and oak tree.

The father teaches his boys every thing he knows. His songs, how to claim and defend his territory.

They spend a lot of time together hunting for bugs. I have seen the mother at the feeder with her daughters and at the sprinkler when I am watering the yard and also together hunting bugs.

They teach their young every thing they know so they too, will servive and grow up to be good parents.

At least, this pair of Cardinals do.

I read somewhere, written by a scientist, that birds are more like people than we would think, I think he is right

The Cardinal Father

by Sandra Santee
(Cottonwood Shores, TX. 78657)

I live in the hill country of Texas,where the winters are mild and the springs are long. It is a great place to study birds.

I first became interested in cardinals when some one told me that they mate for life.

So, I put up a feeder in my large oak tree,with the foods they like ,it took some time before I started seeing them at my feeder and at first my cats were the only ones really interested, I myself didn't think they were all that wonderful.

Then one day I found a little red cardinal, dead, at the bottom of my tree. I felt a little sad, wrapped him in paper and went to bury him. When I heard this tweeting sound all round my head, what is going on.

I looked up and saw the female fussing at me. She was really mad. I think she thought I killed her mate. I felt so bad, all the while I was burying him she kept fussing at me.

When it was done, I looked up at her and it was as if she knew. She started sing this sad song, would brake you heart.

It was not long when this really good looking red Cardinal, flew up to a branch next to her, you could tell he thought he was the best catch around, with his chest all puffed out.

Well, she got so excited and chattered and chattered and wiggled, it was like she was telling him a story and he kept looking at me like it was all my fault.

His heart went out to her and they flew off together.

That is just the beginning of my story for that couple has raised babies for two years now in my yard and their babies have raised their own young and that, is another story.

I love my Cardinals.

Bart Simpson of Birds

by Carrol Betts
(Chiefland, Fl)

Hi everyone. This is going to be short and sweet.....And sweet it is....I just couldn't resist sharing this with ya'll. As you know I take pictures everyday. Yesterday seemed like a Robin and Cardinal day.

So here comes a beautiful Cardinal...As I captured this picture, it made me laugh out loud...How much funnier can a bird be. You know they are always up to something, jumping on top of each other to move them away, flying into each other, bopping around on the ground.

Now you look at this picture and see if he doesn't belong to the Simpson's...I call him the Bart Simpson of birds with that big high hair....He was just a mess, wonder why he didn't comb his hair or at least put some gel on it to hold it in place...

I hope ya'll enjoy this one, I doubt I'll even see another one. Hope this makes you laugh and makes your day...It certainly made my day.

Thanks for letting me share.

Carrol - Chiefland, FL

The Prince of sparows

by Sandra Santee
(Hill Country of Texas)

I live in the hill country of Tx. where the springs are long and the winters mild. Except for this year, I have lived here for 25 years and this year is the first time it really snowed for a whole day.

Of course it did not stay on the ground for a whole day, but it stayed long enough for pictures.

I have been telling stories about the Cardinals that have made my yard their home and this is the on going story of the boy Cardinal that was born in my very large oak tree.

We have named him the prince of sparrows for a very good reason. Ever since he was a kid he would hang out in a large bush that was the home of many ,many sparrows, for what reason he did this I am not sure, maybe he was lonely.

Now all grown up, he still hangs out with them or they are hanging out with him . Wherever he goes there are always at least 3 to 5 sparrows with him which seemed to suit him just fine until he took a mate.

She is a very nice well brought up lady, who has tried to understand his way of life. Where she comes from, nice Cardinals don`t hang out with sparrows but love is strange and she has learned to except his wayward ways and his friends.

The Cardinal Father, Part 2

by Sandra Santee
(Cottonwood,Tx.)

I live in the Texas hill country where the winters are mild and the springs are long. It is a good place to study birds.

A friend of mine read my story, THE CARDINAL FATHER. She said, "that's a love story not a father story". I said, "it was just the begining".

The first son of my Cardinal father was for the most part, raised and taught by his father in the large oak tree in my front yard.

He learned his social skills at the feeder, he learned his calls. from his father who would make a call and the son would try to copy him. If the son made a mistake, his father would make the same call over again and again until the son got it right.

When he got older he learned how to claim the territory. His father would bob up and down while singing a call and turning right, then left, and front and back.

The son would copy his fathers calls and movements bobbing up and down turning right then left. They would move from one limb to an other bobbing and singing.

What ever they were doing, father was always close at hand. Then one day I noticed the boy was sitting on a limb all by himself.

He looked lost and alone and just sat on the limb staring at me as if he were afraid of me. O.K. I thought, so dad is starting to leave you on your own and you are feeling insecure.

Just about then the father flies in on a limb next to his son, sits there and stares at me. I didn`t do anything, it was like he understood. He then turned and left.

The young Cardinal flew to the feeder, went around behind so I could not see him and filled his tummy.

I had been keeping my husband up to date on the teaching of our first cardinal born in our yard.

When I told him how the father flew in to check on his son to make sure he was alright, he said, well, isn't that what fathers do?