July 05, 2010

Baby Cardinals Outside My Window

A beautiful cardinal has been frequenting my backyard a lot lately. When my husband spotted a birds' nest right outside my backdoor--I mean right outside my backdoor--we put two-and-two together. The babies had already hatched--there were three of them.

I went on all-systems-alert and quickly spotted the mama cardinal. She's a lovely reddish-taupe color with a bright red beak, red feet and red feathers on the underside of her tail (kind of like wearing a red petticoat). I have a great close-up of her in my scrapbook. While she feeds the babies, the daddy bird flits this way and that being very protective of their territory.

I hate to let the dog outside to do his business, but fortunately he's oblivious to the family with their new little ones. They aren't oblivious to him, though, and after the dog comes back inside, the mama and daddy birds nonchalantly do a fly-by to check on their chicks. When they can't stand it any longer, they fly into the ligustrum bush where the nest is.  

And all is well.

Having them right there is very distracting. I'm constantly running to the window to see what's going on. I took all these photos from inside my house (looking through the backdoor window).

Pretty amazing, isn't it? I can't tell you what a treat it is to watch this young family. I can't wait until the day they learn to fly. I hope I'm not out of town!

I have more pics in my scrapbook. Click on Dee's Circle of Friends logo at the top, then click on the scrapbook.

So, what about you? Have you ever seen nature unfolding before your very eyes? Are you a birdwatcher? Do you know someone who is? Tell me about it! 

posted by Deeanne on 07/05/2010

Comments: 3

Regina said...

We love our male and female cardinals that visit our backyard. They can put quite a chatter or scolding if their food isn't fresh or if their sunflower seed is out. It is amazing how bright orange the female beak is and I love how vibrant red the male is. The cardinals are amazing birds to watch.

7/5/2010

Donna De For said...

Hi Dee, How exciting for you to have a cardinal nursery right outside your door! They are one of my favorite birds - I call every male "Henry" and every female "Henrietta." Some years ago, I had 3 babies come to my deck. Their mama or daddy would take a sunflower seed out of my feeder and feed it to the baby. The babies have the same coloring as the female, except their beaks are black. They change to the orange color when they mature. Have fun!

7/6/2010

Barb said...

We have a sharp-shinned hawk that likes to sit in our front yard, sometimes in the middle of the day, and eat doves and other such things. Fascinating but gross!! :oP

7/7/2010

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