Monday, June 11, 2012

9 days


from hatchling to fledgeling

prequel:

I noticed a female cardinal building a nest in the rose bush against the chain link fence around the Little Back Yard very near the gate. One day I peeked and there were two little eggs. This picture is from another nest in a different rose bush earlier that was abandoned and the eggs disappeared.



Mom tucked into her nest.



Sunday the 3rd, 10:16 AM – just hatched (poor picture, it's the reddish blur, but the parents were really unhappy with me). I found the other egg on the ground.



Tuesday the 5th, 8:47 AM – still breathing (same circumstances, parents chirping and giving me the evil eye)



Tuesday the 5th, 5:58 PM – getting bigger but still doesn't respond



Thursday the 7th, 6:08 PM – feed me!



Saturday the 9th, 4:12 PM – starting to sport some plumage



Sunday the 10th, 8:30 AM – getting fluffier



Monday the 11th, 8:26 AM – bye bye (right after I took this picture, it flew off)





11 comments:

  1. Oh, thank you. After all the chipmunk and predator raided nests in my yard, I needed to see a success story. Your cardinal baby is adorable. I wish him/her a long happy life.

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  2. isn't it amazing how quickly they develop? but as fragile as they are, i suppose that's their only chance to make it.

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  3. How cute & fuzzy that little alien turned out to be!

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  4. Aww little sweetie! I love Cardinals. The fledglings have punk hairdos for a while. It gives them that wide-eyed goofy but adorable look. :)

    It seems we both followed through on nesting creatures in our posts.

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  5. They cycle through fast, don't they. The hawks across the street take a little longer and make a lot of noise, right up to and past the time mama and papa leave. They keep squakwing for food, get out look around, stand on a branch screeching for another day, and then decide to make a go of it.

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  6. I can't believe how fast they grow and leave the nest. Wow!

    We have had an over population of birds this year for some reason. The bird poop is everywhere and if you aren't careful they will do it on you if you are sitting on the porch - there are so many of them.

    True story - I was sitting on my front porch, reading, with a big glass of tea next to me when I heard a "plop". The bird had homed in on my cup on a 3x3' porch and pooped in it. Amazing. I bought a cup with a lid. [no kidding] and we are very careful eating outside in the evening now.

    Thank you for the pretty pictures. They are amazing.

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  7. wow! that was really fast. i didn't realize that baby birds grew their feathers and left the nests so quickly. we got a lot of ducks around our other house but never any birds' nests. very cool to watch through your pictures.

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  8. It's crazy how fast they get their plumage! And then they can fly? I miss cardinals. We don't have them in Oregon.

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  9. Aww! Life is so fast for a bird...

    Pearl

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