I don’t know what it is about moving to the country that turns people into nature lovers, but it most definitely happens. When my wife’s parents retired to their farm, the grand kids started teasing them because they had more pictures of their “critters” than they did of any of them. Well, the same thing is now happening to us. We recently “hatched” three baby cardinals on our back porch. The whole process was so exciting to watch that we took about a million pictures to document it. Because of these baby cardinals our kids have started to tease us just like they teased their grandparents 15 years ago.
“Our” three cardinal eggs
The cardinal experience started when my wife and I noticed something making a nest in a potted plant on the back porch. We enjoyed watching the progress but we had no idea what was building it. It was truly amazing to watch a few pieces of dry grass begin to twist together to form the most perfect little nest you ever saw.
Our babies right after hatching
After about three weeks of watching the nest take shape, we came home one afternoon and found the cutest little brown speckled egg in the nest. Once that first egg arrived we began to pay close attention to the back porch. After the second egg appeared in the nest we finally saw a lovely female cardinal sitting on the nest. The next morning we went out and found the third an final egg.
Hungry babies!
Once we were certain that we had cardinals, we decided to find out how the rest of this little drama would progress. So, we went to Google and discovered some very interesting cardinal facts. Cardinals typically lay 3 eggs but they can lay anywhere from one to five. The female does all of the incubation and she doesn’t start to sit until she has finished laying. The eggs will hatch in 11 to 13 days after she starts sitting. Once hatched, both the male and female will feed the young. The male gets the extra benefit of defending the territory and carrying off the little poops sacks that the young expel. The baby cardinals are fast growing and they fledge, or leave the nest, 9 to 11 days after hatching.
Our babies are ready to leave the nest
All of these facts were proven out by our three baby birds. They hatched 11 days after the female starting sitting. The first brave baby left the nest on day 9 and the other two were gone when we came home on day 10. It was so exciting to watch this avian miracle of life unfold right before us. Watching these birds go from egg to first flight in 20 days was truly amazing to me. I guess this is why people that move to the country become nature lovers. In the country you have the opportunity to get close to nature. And, the closer you get, the more and more amazing it is to watch.
Since our kids are tired of seeing the pictures, I hope you don’t mind us sharing these with you. Enjoy!
I live in Tulsa and we have birds in our garage!! They made the nest in a basket behind my granddaughters’ bike helmet. They think they own the garage and fuss at us when we come close or close the garage!! We have seen the adult but have yet to identify it–small, curved beak–brown head with a white stripe around the eye-rusty breast. I had the “bird” book out today trying to find it! So you don’t have to live in the country—-It can happen in a neighborhood. We haven’t gotten any good pictures–They are yelling at us or flying at us when we are near enough to photograph. I’m ready for them to move on!! I keep telling them-It’s MY garage!
Notice that we didn’t have any pictures of the parents! They did not like us poking around their nest either!
I was looking for some information about red birds since i have a nest in a flower vine on my deck. I can see it from my living room window. I watched her build the nest and the male is close by part of the time. I think there are just two eggs in the nest but she has started sitting now. It rained yesterday and she never moved. It is truly fascinating and I am so afraid something is going to bother her. I will just let nature do its thing and leave her along except to observe from the living room.
Hope everything works out for them. It really is a joy to be able to watch the process. Thanks for the comment!
It sounds like a Carolina Wren, one of my favorites!
It sounds very much like a Carolina wren.
A female cardinal, sitting on her nest for 20 days. When she left her nest today, I climbed a stool to see into the nest form our bedroom window and there are no eggs. She is still on the nest as I write this. Any ideas why & how ?
Sylvia
I really don’t have any idea. I know when our chickens decide to sit they will sit in an empty box for a month before they give up. Perhaps something happened to her eggs and she just is not willing to leave the nest.
I hate to say it but most likely a snake ate the eggs. I live in a very wooded area and we get quite a few black snakes and king snakes ( and occasional copperhead but they don’t climb). We have at least three cardinals build nests every year and the snakes almost always get them. I caught a small black snake eating nestlings the other night, I saved one by getting the snake away but the other two were gone. The parents were nearby but they only fight the snake so much and the snake knows it. The one I saved jumped out at only 5 days old because it was tormented by mites which you could see crawling all over it. Of course it had no chance no matter what the parents did, it was just too young. I don’t blame the snakes, I wonder why these birds build nests so close to the ground and people. One day they are there, next am gone.
Ah, the circle of life. I watched ‘The Lion King’ last evening with my grandson, hence the comment.
My cardinals are nesting in a cedar next to my front door in NH.
There are three eggs and the female is there constantly with the male hovering nearby. Spotted the nest mid-May and look forward to seeing babies. So enjoyed your story.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy your future new babies!
We have a nest with eight eggs. I have a picture of it and with the mama cardinal sitting there. We’re wondering how they will all fit when they hatch.. She started sitting one week ago.
I don’t either! The three we had filled up the nest pretty quickly!
Dear Whites: Thanks for sharing the cardinal pictures. I have a pair of them who have come to my back yard feeders since last year, but I have never seen their nest. My trees are low and full -youpon, fig, bay and redbud. I am not very agile in my old age but this inspires me to use my opera glasses to watch them more closely now that my old tom cat is dead. Nothing excites a former biology teacher like nature up close!
So glad you like them! My wife has been teaching for 27 years. In my opinion there are no better people in the world than school teachers! So glad you are enjoying my blog!
We’ve had cardinal nests the past two years in a ficus tree on our patio. I performed a hatchet job on the ficus last fall and apparently, when the cardinals were real estate shopping, they didn’t care for the old neighborhood. They briefly checked out the schefflera “next door” (next pot) but after just a little effort at building a nest there decided it wasn’t quite sturdy enough (good call!). In the past when we’ve had a nest to watch I’ve closed the blinds and gotten a kitchen stool and binoculars out to watch the activity. I missed all that this Spring! Thanks for the post. I really enjoy your blog.
Thanks for the great story and so glad you are enjoying the blog!
I have a question; I have a cardinal nest right by my kitchen window in a metal lantern. The nest has 4 eggs in it and the female cardinal layed the eggs around the 10th of April and she is still sitting on the nest and none of the eggs have hatched. Will they hatch anymore after this long?
I am not a bird expert by any means. I did ask a friend of mine that is more familiar with this kind of thing. He said there is a 50/50 chance you may get some little birds. He said that sometimes she does not start incubating as soon as the eggs are laid. Give it a few more days but you are quickly running out of time for the eggs to be viable.
Well I will keep my fingers crossed for mama cardinal I do feel sorry for her as she has logged a lot of hours on that nest.
I also had a nest by my vegetable garden. The five babies were pretty crowded in the small nest, and when I checked on them yesterday, the nest had fallen a bit, and all the birds were gone. I am hoping it was time for them to leave the nest, and not that a predator killed the sweet things.
I can’t imagine 5 in a nest. Our three were so crowed once they started to grow. When ours left we had the same worry about the predators. However, we now see two young females and young male quite often, so we are pretty sure they really did leave that soon.
Wow, thanks for posting this. I just found a nest while trimming some bushes in the front of my home the other day. First, one egg, then two, three, four and FIVE! Just like you said, I have noticed after the fifth egg that mom is doing her best job sitting on those eggs. She hates when I go and take my peek everyday. We had a robin’s nest by our front door a few years ago. I never removed it, hoping we would get someone else to move in and use the birthing center. I am excited to see these baby cardinals. 🙂
That is so exciting. Once they hatch, watch them very closely as they will be gone in a flash! Best of luck and thanks for reading.
We were amazed and delighted this spring to have a cardinal born in our back yard, decide to pick a mate and return. His parents returned to the backyard, so the little fellow an dhis misses set up house keeping in our redbud tree in the front. This little tree is young only 5-6 years old. But we discovered while trimming that there was a nest! We would watch carefully for the next few days, and viola! we had 4 eggs! We started noticing dad coming and going a lot and the misses too, so my husband looked and found that the eggs were hatched! Last Tuesday he looked and we had 3 fuzzy babies, not sure what happened to the third. But today he looked again and all were gone. I did not realize that birds can hatch and be out of the nest in just 9 or 10 days! Amazing. I hope we will see them in the neighborhood as the summer passes.
I agree, it is amazing to watch nature work. We still see “our babies” around the yard. We got two females and one male. I hope you get to enjoy your new family for many years to come. Thanks for the comment.
What a delight to find your photo’s I am so jeolous! For two years I have had cardinal nest’s in my rosebushes. Only they are so high & placed right up against the window. I can watch them is through my window. One had fallen out and the male allowed me to place it back in the nest. I was really greatful for that. I so badly tried to take photo’s. I have been able to watch them in my birdbath and was glad to find photo’s of the young birds-they change so quickly!
What tyoe if camera are you using?
Thank you again for sharing.
Isn’t it fun to watch the birds. I use a Canon EOS Rebel T3i. It is a great camera and takes really awesome pictures. The quality of my original photos is much better than what you see on the web as I have to “crunch” them before putting them up. If you have an DSLR camera can you get a $10 polarizing filter that will allow you to shoot through glass like it is not even there.
Hello, not sure if you are still reading your comments but I have 3 cardinal hatchlings in my front hedge. it is so exciting! I’m worried they will fall out or get pushed out as they are really growing but I hope for the best. Thank you for your update and pictures.
I do read my comments and I enjoy each of them. My wife and i worried about the same thing when ours were growing. They got so big so fast and the nest was really small. However, by the time we were certain they couldn’t fit anymore, they all flew away. Best of luck and feel free to drop me a comment anytime.
We have a nest with four baby cardinals in it and were worried about them falling out so we hung an open umbrella under the planter and sure enough found one in there that same day. Will be placing him back in the nest in the morning while mom and dad are out foraging. The soft umbrella was much better than the concrete porch under it… Hoping all four make it!
What a great idea! So glad you saved the little guy. My experience has been that even if the fall hadn’t killed him a cat or fire ants would. Best of luck and thanks for sharing.
We are watching a female build a nest only a few feet from our front door in a potted ficus here in South Austin, and every time I go in and out, I worry about disturbing her, but so far, she is hanging in there. I hate to bring up this dismal subject, but does anybody know how to help hide the nest/baby cardinals from blue jays? Other than somehow deport all blue jays? We witnessed a horrible killing of a baby cardinal a few years back and the cardinal parents were unable to stop it. This is the first nest around the house since that ugly event.
Hope you get a good tip. I have actually never heard of Blue Jays attacking other baby birds. I knew they were mean, but that is horrible. I wish you the best of luck and hope someone has a good idea for you.
Currently watching baby cardinals develop. They are in a nest in our rose bush outside our den window. I didn’t notice the nest at first…my husband pointed them out. I’ve had the joy of watching the mother feed them and care for them. The are now standing on the side of the nest as if they are ready to takek flight. I hope I’m able to witness the first flight.
Isn’t it exciting! We enjoyed watching them so much. I sincerely hope you get to see them take that first flight! Thanks for commenting
We have had a paid of cardinals living in our backyard for the past few years. This morning we saw the pair foraging with two young birds. I have never seen a family of birds foraging together like that before. Any idea how long the juveniles stay with their parents?
We didn’t see our juveniles stay with their parents at all. However, we know that they hung around the yard for at least a year. After that they became so mature we could not tell them from the other cardinals on our property. What a treat to get to see the family in this way.
Indeed, what a joy to watch the whole process — from the time the mother cardinal (In the latest case, I call her Cardalina) starts building her nest to the time when you find the nest all empty! You take a peek at the nest and all the babies are gone. I have been graced with the opportunity to enjoy this process for many years now.
It may seem like a small joy of life. But what I find most beautiful about this joy is that it calms you down as it helps you wash away the daily worries of life. In fact, it feels so meditational; I just sit on the porch with a cup of mint tea and my dog — and watch Cardalina come and go with her pompous tail flapping up and down and her chirps serenading the whole backyard.
Like I said, over the years I have watched several cardinals make nests and raise babies around our house. For instance, 2 years ago right outside our bedroom window on a bottle brush tree. This year Cardalina had the nerve to build a nest right outside the back door on a Oleander tree branch. It is right next to the porch, just about 3′ high from the ground.
Every time, I go out to the porch or let the dog out, I have to be extra careful not to frighten her, but she does not seem to care or mind us going in and out. The mom seems so arrogant or confident — or “arrogantly confident” as I call it. The dog often walks right under her nest as she is sitting there; yet she does not even fling. She must think the dog is her body or nest guard. In fact, having seen many cardinal nests very low and close to the house, I have come to believe that they do so for the sake of security as human occupants are likely to drive away any potential predators that may attack the nest.
Let me get to the point:
Here is the reason why I am writing this note: Cardalina built the nest; I marveled at her artistic ability to create such a beautiful round nest bowl out of twigs. She laid 3 eggs. Finally, about 6 days ago, all eggs hatched and I saw 3 little babies. 3 days ago, I took a peek at the nest again to see if they had opened their eyes. What I noticed baffled me — and worried me. There was only 1 baby left — 2 were gone. No idea what happened to them. I looked around under the nest on the ground and saw no sign of any foul play. The nest looked entirely undisturbed; the remaining one baby looked very healthy. Didn’t know what to make of it.
However, deeply concerned about the fate of the remaining baby, I sat by dining room window — just about 8′ from the nest — and kept an eye on the nest the whole time. Finally, about 30 minutes later, Cardalina showed up with her tail flapping pompously as always and fed the baby. Shortly after dad came and fed the baby as well.
At least, I was relieved that the remaining baby was fine and safe. It is growing fast and fat (why not — don’t have to share any food with any siblings). I already see wing feathers growing. Soon will be ready take a hike. Hope I get to catch that moment.
But I still don’t have any clues as to what happened to the other 2 babies. Ever since, I have been racking my brain about this question. Today, I decided to do some web search to see if I could find an answer to the question — and, fortunately, came across this website.
So, my friends, if you have any clues to my question, let me hear.
Thank you so much for this story! I had a cardinal family right outside my window and three babies hatched about 11 days ago. Yesterday they were hopping around in the bush, this morning they were gone. I was so worried until I read your story. They sure do grow quick! Loved watching them, too, and live in the burbs!
Your story is exactly why I wrote the article. We came home and found ours missing too. We were so disappointed we did the research hoping that they had flown away. I was truly releaved to know that they were most probably O.K. Thanks for the comment!
I, too am relieved to find this site because a strange and sad thing happened earlier today. I was waiting for a violent storm to arrive during the early evening hours. Finding safe places for my hanging plants I heard a strange sound that I had heard before when robin babies left their nest and the parents called back and forth to them. We have no robin babies now, however, I was aware of a cardinal nest in a pine near the pond with very young hatchlings. At this time I couldn’t get a fix on where the sound was coming from. Just before the rain began I saw this little fluffy chick on the ground near the steps, calling for all it was worth. I hoped the parents would come to his aid, but even as the rain came I could hear him still calling. Feeling helpless, (I have no experience in wildlife rescue or baby bird tending) after the rain stopped I ran to the spot where the chick was last seen. At first I didn’t see him and the calling had stopped. Then, I saw him, small and wet and still sitting in the same spot. The parents did not come back and he was hungry, begging for food with his beak open wide. Probably doing the wrong thing, I found some tiny earthworms and cut them into very tiny pieces. when his beak opened I put one in. Then another and he seemed to like them. I made him a dry ‘nest’ and ran to the computer to see if it was possible to raise an orphan cardinal baby. Apparently many people have done it successfully. I made up some ‘mash’ as described and put him in a more appropriate container, still hoping that the parents would return I left it near the spot where the baby was first seen. After dark I began worrying about warmth and predators, so he is now in the very warm garage, his nest inside a fluffy larger nest of straw and a makeshift ‘tent’ over the top. Again, don’t know if any of this is correct. He loved the ‘mash’ and ate ravenously. I feel we’re already very good friends. Just thinking about him gives me a feeling I haven’t felt for a very long time-kind of like extremely warm fuzzies. Yet, the realist in me cautions that all may not end as I’d wish and hope for the cardinal baby. I have questions: Robin parents spend a great deal of time teaching their offspring how to fend for themselves. How would a cardinal adolescent learn those things without mom and dad?How would he know to find food and what kind of food he’s supposed to eat? How can a domesticated cardinal exist on his own? Can you help me with these questions? I would also appreciate any guidance from those who have raised orphans. Thank You for any help you can give.
I am not an expert on this. I am not sure what would happen if you raise it and then release it. I did find this article on the web that was very informative. I wish you the best of luck. Here’s the link http://www.2ndchance.info/insecteater.htm
I am very sad to say that the baby didn’t make it through the night. Had I been better informed about what to do, if anything, maybe I’d be telling you some good news. Feel very sad today.
Here’s what I learned since: Cardinal babies stay in the nest just a few days, as you stated. They leave unprepared for independence and live on the ground for the next approximately 10 days. The parents care for them and try to protect them until they have gained full flight capabilities.
I did absolutely the wrong thing by ‘saving’ the baby. However, the little bird was soaked and cold and had already missed several feedings due to the storm. The parents couldn’t have towel dried him and tucked him into bed so I guess my rescue was the best chance he had. Even though that is my conscience speaking in the last sentence, this morning I heard the same sound from secret locations in the yard and the parents were responding. The other babies that were in the same nest must have survived. If another opportunity arises I will mind my own business where cardinal babies are concerned. It is probably the parents are still standing by.
So sorry to hear that. I think you did the right thing though. It had zero chance of surviving out in the rain.
You did the right thing. It would have died outside, as most baby birds do. My granddaughter found a baby cardinal on the ground about 2 months ago. It’s sibling was dead beside it, covered in ants. This baby had only fuzz. From past experiences trying to save baby birds, I prepared my granddaughter by telling her the baby bird would probably die. However, I searched the web diligently looking for info. I found the most informative article, which gave detailed instructions on caring for a baby. We followed them, and our baby bird is now a beautiful juvenile female cardinal. The plan is to release her soon. I plan to hang her birdcage in a bush, with the door wired open, and keep food there until she is completely independent.
The most important info I learned is as follows, condensed for you who may need this:
Never attempt to water a baby bird. You will drown it. They have an undeveloped muscle that keeps water from their lungs, so baby birds get all of their fluids from their food.
When you find a baby bird, you may not know if it is a grain feeder, an insect feeder, or both. A baby bird has a very high metabolism, since it grows so quickly. It needs a high protein diet. Dry cat food, soaked in water, fed by tweezers, is the best food for a baby bird. It must be fed very often. Ours ate at least every hour during the day, and slept all night long. The cat food needs to be completely soft and somewhat watery.
If you can find an old nest for the baby, great. If you can’t, try to construct your own. Birds poop a lot. In nature, the nest is low enough for them to poop over the side, keeping their bedding clean. We couldn’t find an old nest, so I got my granddaughter’s plastic bug box (it had a lid, was see-through, and had air holes), put some twigs, straw & leaves together, and put the baby in it. I kept it in this box & under a light for 2 weeks, and covered it with a damp paper towel, to protect the baby and keep it’s skin hydrated. I had to reconstruct the nest daily, and clean the box out. Soon the baby was hopping up to the side of the box when I opened it, so I pulled an old parakeet cage from storage. I made natural perches from tree branches, and cut leafy branches from the tree that we found her under and attached these branches to the sides of the cage, to make a more natural habitat. I also started putting water in the cage, once the bird started becoming more active. As she is very vocal, I cover the cage at night with a light sheet, to make her sleep.
My granddaughter (6 yrs.) told me the day that she found this little bird that she had prayed for a bird and that God had sent it to her. I believe this is true, because this little bird had brought such joy to so many people, in the last 2 months that we’ve had her. Since she has to be fed so often, I have carried her to stay with my Mom, my Aunt & my sister when I had to be away from home. My Mom has carried her to her card games, and the ladies there have thoroughly enjoyed watching her eat & listening to her chirp! My mom noticed her trying to put her head into her water holder one day, so she put some water in a shallow dish and placed it in the bottom of her cage. Sweet Tweet had the time of her life playing in that water, and my Mom & Aunt so enjoyed watching her! I now let her take her bath daily, and she gets soaked!
We will be releasing her soon. I hope that she will make it on her own. Maybe this info will help someone down the road.
Thank you for such an informative comment!
I have a Cardinal story: Just outside our back screened porch, cardinals had built a little nest. I am too short to see inside, so my 6′ son got his camera and angled it in the nest. What an adorable baby bird with mouth wide open. Not sure how old they were, definitely not new born. That week we had a lot of rain, about 4 days. When my son again looked in nest, all 3 babies were gone! I am so relieved that they actually can fly in their second week of life. Amazing. I enjoyed watching the Mom and Dad come and go up the branches into the denser foliage. Saw parents take turns feeding and caring for their young. What a blessing!
So happy your story has a happy ending. Our pair came back and laid two eggs this year. Something promptly ate them! Very disappointing.
We have a fake tree on our porch. I found a nest that had fallen out of a large tree over the winter so I stuffed it nicely into the tree. I didnt think of it till I saw a bird sitting in it. She flew away so I peeked in the nest and found 4 eggs! I covered the windows with lace so they could have privacy but we could still peek at them. My 6 year old was brightened and amazed when Iet him take a peek. He said there were babies! We take a peek every other day and one egg didnt hatch but the others are right on track. I see mom and dad back n forth at the nest and try to keep our coming and going to a minimum not to disturb them too much. We live in the city so this is a real treat. I put water bowls outfor them and bought 2 kinds of Cardinal specific food to help out the parents. :0) I loved reading all the stories..good and sad…This really helped me to prepare for them. Next year the birds will be set! What a joy to have them so close.
What a wonderful experience and such a blessing to be able to share it with your child. Thanks for sharing!
Came across your story while researching. I have a preschool and we just found a nest in a bush at the school. I lifted all 30 or so kids up to peek in at the eggs. There are 5 total! I’m so excited for the kids to have such a cool learning experience as they will get to watch the whole process of life for a bird. Unfortunately the bush is right along the path we take to the playground so this often scares the mother out of the nest. Not sure how long it has been there but with the patience of children being short, I’m glad the whole process is pretty quick!
I applaud you for taking the effort to lift all of your kids to let them observe the process!!! My wife is a second grade teacher and I am always amazed at how far teachers will go to share a teaching moment with their kids! Just know that I appreciate you for making the effort. Like you said, luckily it is a quick process so you won’t have to lift all of those kids up too many more times! 🙂
One day I witnessed a mockingbird chasing 3 sparrows, and I could tell that the mockingbird was very angry at these sparrows. These sparrows alighted into a group of sparrows that were eating some seeds and nuts that I had left for them, and I was watching the sparrows enjoy their eating. It appeared that the 3 sparrows were trying to hide from the Mockingbird by mixing in with the other sparrows. The Mockingbird went right into the group of sparrows singling out the three it was after, chasing them away from the others. The other sparrows seemed unconcerned with what was going on and continued their eating as if they were oblivious to what was going on. In this same scene, I watched a large crow come over to where the sparrows were eating, and he seemed to be King because the sparrows all dropped back and allowed him to have his food which was only a taste, and then he walked away and the sparrows continued their eating. I am giving this story because it appeared to me that the birds are subject to the same calamaties that happen to man when he does wrong. Just as King David did wrong and had to pay for it by losing his son, so I wonder if the cardinal parents may have had to pay for a wrong and it was paid for by the bluejay killing one of its young, just as the mockingbird was chasing the sparrows out of anger for something. It appeared that the other sparrows knew that a “wrong” had been committed by one of their own towards this mockingbird, and knew that they were not at risk and continued on with what they were doing, unafraid and unconcerned. It seems to me that God allows “bad things” to happen to the animals just as they happen to us who sin. I still have a lot to learn from all that I am experiencing and could be totally wrong in what I have just explained, but this is how it appeared to me as a possible explanation for some of what I have read in this blog.
you got it perfectly ! The Lord allows tragedy to happen so that we will come together to help one another and look to him to seek guidance . GIVING Thanks for what ever the outcome.
I live south of Houston, close to Freeport, Tx and for the last 2 yrs cardinals have built nests in the bush right outside my front door. Always a new nest never used the old one. After the babies hatched, 2 each time, dad was the only one I ever saw feed them. They were so funny when getting close to being fledglings, they would sit on branches at the very edge and be perfectly still. Like if they didn’t move you couldn’t see them. Far as I know they all made it. Now I have another nest in the crepe myrtle in my front yard. Babies just hatched so they wont be around long. I usually sit in the shade under that tree when I finish mowing, mom and dad DO NOT like that. Don’t know how many babies this time, I just leave em alone. Parents might be offspring from last year. Didn’t know cardinals would mate this late.
That does seem late. However it has been a strange year weather wise so maybe that has them messed up. Thanks for sharing your story!
A few weeks ago I wrote about a productive nest in my crepe myrtle. Now there is another active cardinal nest in the same tree. Three branches over from the old one. Cat from across the street is driving momma crazy. Cat likes the shade from that tree just like I do. It was 101 here today.
Too bad about the cat! Hope she is just looking for shade!
Cat is too old and lazy to climb the tree.
I live in Virginia. We have a butterfly bush by the corner of our sunroom. I was trimming the bush and discovered a nest with 3 speckled eggs. It was a cardinal! The day after Hurricane Arthur I was worried about the nest and looked out the sunroom window. The nest was in tatters and the babies were on the ground. I put on garden gloves and put the nest and babies in a strawberry basket and hung it to a branch in the butterfly bush. That was 8 days ago. The parents are feeding the babies! We have had some terrific storms with torrential rains and I have worried about the parents and babies. The female covers her babies with her wings to protect them. It is so sweet as well as sad to see her out in the rain. She is the very best Mom and my heart goes out to her. The Dad is right there feeding his babies too. Humans could take a lesson from Nature. I read they will fledge in 9-11 days after hatching. Today is day 8, they are still so tiny! I’ll wait and watch and really miss them when they are gone.
What a beautiful story! I am amazed that the parents came back even after you moved the nest and babies to a basket. I think that is truly incredible. I am always moved when I hear stories of the sacrifices that mother’s make for their children. You are exactly right, we could learn a lot about love and devotion by observing the examples that nature shares with us if we take the time to observe! Thanks for sharing your story!
I have two hanging planters (ferns) on my front porch. Ten days ago I was ready to water the ferns and looked down to find a little nest with three eggs. I returned the fern to its hanger and have watched through the window as the mother cardinal came and went. They hatched two mornings ago and are so very, very tiny. The third egg has not hatched. She does not seem to feed them very often so I am worried. I put out some dirty rice (rice with liver) in a little bowl to see if she would eat it. I am also boiling an egg to chop up to put in her bowl. I figure if she likes it it will be good for the babies. But, only mom should feed her birds. I just leave some food and water for her. Will the third egg hatch after 2 days or is it dead? Any answers?
I don’t think the chances are very good for the third egg. Also, mom is not the only one that feeds the babies. Dad brings food and cleans the next by carrying off the excrement. Best of luck with your new babies!
Marti, I know your intentions are very good but I think you should not put out that food. As Jay said both parents feed their babies and it is almost impossible to tell how often they are coming and going. Sometimes the human intervention is not the best idea. Good luck to you.
Nice really nice thanks for the facts and the great pictures.
You are welcome. Thanks for visiting the blog!
I’m so glad I came across this! I have a cardinal nest right outside our living room window–with one little baby in it. I only learned of the nest this week…even though the parents have been around all this time–it never occurred to me that they had a nest! I’ll be watching intently through my window to see when the little one fledges. Thanks for the information!
You are certainly lucky to be able to watch the whole process from your window. Thanks for the comment and I hope you enjoy the porcsess as much as we did!
Have a cardinal nest just off my back porch. Watched momma build the nest and then sit on one egg. Had a really bad storm come through last week and since then momma has abandoned the nest and the single egg. Too bad for the unborn baby, but I guess that’s just nature at work.
Thanks for the story. The year after I wrote this we got another nest in the same place. The mother laid three eggs and we were excited that we would get to watch this again. Next day we came home and the plant stand was knocked over and the eggs were gone. We will never know if it was a snake or a cat or raccoon. Regardless, the eggs were gone and the mother has never come back to nest on our porch.
We had 3 cute cardinal babies that were 5 days old and this morning I checked in on them and the nest was cooked and birdies gone. The nest was in my knock-out rose bush so I thought they would be safe from snakes and cats but something got them and I am very sad this morning.
Cocked not cooked. I had watched them from day one too and witnessed everything u said too.
That is sad. Something got mine two years in a row. After that they stopped trying to nest on back porch. Hope you find another nest
I need help. I have a cardinals nest on my front porch with three babies in it. My dog proceeded to knock the fake tree that the nest is in to get at the birds and two fell out. I shoveled them up and put them back in the nest and it’s been about six hours now and no sign of mom or dad! I am so sad and the birds have their mouths open looking for food. I can’t stop thinking about them. Any suggestions?
Wish I had some advice. I am afraid that if mom and dada have not been back for several hours they are in trouble. I have tried to save some babies before and been unsuccessful. Here is a good article if you want to try and save them. Sorry I can’t be of more help and best of luck!
http://www.2ndchance.info/insecteater.htm
I am in Texas and am watching my 2nd time around of the same Cardinals. I was very surprised that they can back to the same spot and it was in a short time span. …maybe 2-3 months. I’m loving watching them and from my guess we are about ready to have the eggs hatch. I’m seeing the dad around quite a bit today.
Ours had their nest disturbed twice after the article so they moved on. We have not been able to watch this process again. What a treat to be able to see this process twice in the same year! Thanks for the comment.
I have been watching a baby cardinal for the past week and a half here in Dallas. It’s nest is outside one of our bedrooms. I was worried last week when Tropical Storm Bill came through but the nest stayed tucked tightly into the holly! I noticed yesterday I hadn’t seen the parents fly in and out but it was raining and when I looked out today no baby?!?! I looked around on the ground but no sign. I started to worry that a snake or a new to the neighborhood roadrunner may have found it. I googled info and came across this site and breathed a huge sigh of relief – I will choose to believe the little one flew the nest! (it looked about the size of the last picture)
Thank you for sharing your pictures and info – gave me peace and not to be sad about the little one! 🙂
Glad it gave you peace! Thanks for the lovely comment and thanks for reading!
Ixed seed for songbirds. ‘ve been watching the next stage for over a week now, as the parents and three fledgling s flit in and out from my two feeders. They definitely prefer the sunflower seed one, but both parents also feed at the one with mixed seeds for songbirds. The male continues to check out the area first, then fly to a higher perch before calling the all clear. One of the young ones has the light grey feathers under his wings turning a peachy blush. As I’m in Florida, they stay here year round.
For the first time we as having the same experience in our gardenia bush right outside our back door and are loving it and getting great pics and videos on the smart phone. What happens to the nest after the babies leave? Is it abandoned? Am I safe to pull the weeds under my bush after they leave? Do they ever reuse the same nest?Haha. I don’t dare do it now. The babies are four days old.
Our birds will reuse the nest. However, we have only seen our birds hatch babies once a year, so you are safe to weed once the babies leave.
We accidentally removed a nest and baby Cardinal with the dead branches in our clematis. Although we put it back in place, I’m not sure if the parents are feeding the baby. It’s definitely alive and opening its mouth for food. Any thoughts on what else we can do?
Here is what I found on the web. According to this there is a good chance the parents will return if you replace the nest. Best of luck and I hope the parents return.
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/24/when-rescuing-a-baby-bird-is-not-the-compassionate-thing-to-do.aspx
Thank you for putting this information out there as I have a nest also. It is in my rose bush! I am so excited to come home everyday to see the progress and to talk to mama.So far I have two babies that look exactly like your babies. It is adorable to see their little mouths wide open. The mother and the father take uch good care of their babies.
What is amazing is that mama and Dad do not mind me sitting on my patio but I always keep a safe distance and I think they can sense I would not hurt them
My wife and I enjoyed watching ours so much. We have been very disappointed that we haven’t had the opportunity to see it again. Enjoy watching and thanks for sharing!
I want to say thanks for the information. I was cleaning up the yard and was moving my grill when I noticed the grill lid propped open 4-5 inches……so I lifted the lid to see why it was not closed all the way down…….to my surprise, found 5 cardinal eggs in a nest located inside my out door grill. I looked, but did not touch the nest. I put the lid back to where it had the 4-5 inch gap. When I went back inside and looked out the window….saw two grown cardinals in the tree right beside the grill but they did not go inside the grill to the nest. I have been curious to know if I disturbed the nest area in which the parents might have o banded the nest. I know now at least 12 days for hatching and another 13 days for the babies to leave nest. So, I am waiting anxiously to see if I will find empty nest or if the parents o banded nest. I have yet to see parents go back and forth to nest…..but at the same time never even seen them go back and forth to build nest. I find myself wanting to skip work just to sit all day to see if I can spot the parents….have to wait until weekend to bird watch. I also know better timing on when there will be more action which is after the eggs hatch/if they hatch? I feel I have a mystery on my hands and I am the detective. I just appreciate all the information from timing to all the do and do nots. Thanks You once again.
By the way…buying my first bird feeder : ) I think I am hooked : )
Thanks so much for the story! Good news is I do not think the parents will abandon the nest. I have read a lot about this and most sources say that birds do not just walk away from their babies because they have been discovered by humans. Also have to laugh about the bird feeder. We just got into the whole feeder thing a couple of years ago. it is addicting and very enjoyable. We get all of our stuff from Wild Birds Unlimited. They have a great selection of stuff and it is not too expensive. Thanks again for the comment and happy birding!
Just inherited a baby Cardinal 15-20 days old from a neighbors driveway. Wife is feeding it every 2 hours. How long until it’s mature and we can release it into the wild?
It is 9 to 11 days after the hatch. So depending on how old the little guy was when you started, it should be ready to leave pretty soon.
I am anxiously awaiting the birth of cardinals that nested in a fake tree that I placed on my patio under an awning near my back door. It has been a few weeks but I think Mommy is finally going to start nesting , so hopefully we will have babies soon.
I have heard of them nesting in odd places before but never in a fake tree. Must be good one! Thanks for the story and hope watching them is as much fun for you as it was for us.
Mommy has been nesting for about 4 days so hopefully by next week the babies will be here. I hate to go into my back yard but I need to attend to my plants as well. As long as I do not go near the nest I hope that all will be well with my new family. Any thoughts on this? Thanks Gail
Hi, Jay and friends! We are in coastal SC and had been hearing a beautiful peeping duet of baby cardinal hatchlings in a hedge nest right outside our front door after 11 years of busy activity and then abandoned nests and unhatched eggs in that hedge!. How exciting to now hear life affirmed! I took a photo the other day when their parents were off getting food and was able to snap an aerial picture of two gaping mouths! Here is our question: Mama has been sitting on the edge of the nest every time I go by over the last two days (I’m trying to have another quick opportunity to take another picture) and I talk gently to her, she is just above my eye level and I use reassuring tones and keep my visits brief. Where she is sitting on the edge of the nest and not on the nest, we’re just wondering, is it possible that the hatchlings are still in there? I haven’t heard them in a few days and I’m growing very concerned, but the mother is still and unmoving on the nest and will not leave the nest, it seems. If the babies have fledged, will Mama continue to sit at the nest even if it’s empty? I’m praying that the babies are just fine! Thanks for your help, all!
I am no expert but my experience has shown me that the mother and father abandon the nest as soon as the babies are gone. We had some a couple of years ago that a cat or something else ate the eggs. The cardinals never came back to that nest. So, my feeling is, if she is still hanging around their is a high probability the babies are still there. Perhaps you are not hearing them because mother has taught them to be quiet when they hear something out of the ordinary. I feel that there is a great chance the babies are fine as long as mom and dad are staying close.
We had a nest form right outside out kitchen window in Melbourne FL. The eggs hatched on Mother’s Day and they last bird left the nest on day 8. So beautiful to see the whole cycle. I hope they’ll use the nest again!
I hope so too. While this has not happened to us several people have said that they have had cardinals come to the same nest in spring and fall.
Do you know if the parents cardinals will reuse the nest for their next babies
Not sure. They have not at our house but I have been told by others that either the cardinals or another type of bird reuses their nests each year. Sorry i don’t know for certain.
I have cardinals that have made a nest in a low tree in my backyard the last 2 years. Last year I watched them until they were just about ready to leave the nest. The next thing I knew my dog had pushed the small tree, dislodged the babies, and killed them. Almost gave the dog away. Same thing is happening this year. Anybody have any ideas about ways to keep the dog away until the babies have gone? Also when they fledge do they stay on the ground around the nest?
Can you put some sort of fencing around the tree temporarily? Or I’d keep that dog leashed until the babies leave.
Well I just came across this article about cardinals. I found out that I have a nest of cardinals in one of my rose bushes.
I was trimming all my rose bushes and when I got to the last one I thought I saw a bird fly out. So I sat back to see if it would come back. About ten minutes later it did. The bird is a female cardinal. I thought cool there must be a nest in the rose bush. So I waited until the next day to check it out. Did not want to stress her out. Sure enough there is a nest. I read on this blog that cardinals usually have 3 eggs. The most I saw was 5 eggs. Well I have a total of 6 eggs. Yes you read it correctly, 6 eggs. I would like to post a pic but can not see how. If I figure in out I will most definitely will. I wall also try to up date the event.
If someone knows how to post a pic, please let me know, thanks !!!
That’s so exciting! Here is a suggestion: when the mother leaves the nest, gently put your phone in between the branches and sneak a quick picture of the nest & eggs, being careful not to touch or jostle the nest in any way. That’s how I got my shot of recently hatched babies with gaping mouths fully open! I also wish there was a way to post a picture here! I had not seen the babies or parents since they left the nest a couple of weeks ago, but was so excited to see the completely feathered-out and fat fledglings yesterday, this time in the backyard, Dad is feeding mom and mom is still feeding the babies and every time she approaches, their whole bodies vibrate on the branch, it is absolutely hysterical!
Yes I have a few pics. I would like to post them ???
Hey Ed, I don’t think WordPress comments accept pictures. Wish it did as several of us would love to see the pictures taken by others.
OK thanks Jay
We live in the country, our nest was made in our umbrella on our deck, when I moved it I angered the upcoming parents and she dropped an egg on our patio table. I returned the nest and woke up to a new and second egg now as we wait for Marion and Miller who live in the Park I built in our yard for 8 GRANDCHILDREN we are enjoying the joy of country living.
I am truly amazed at the things cardinals nest in. I think the umbrella gets the award for “creative” nest location to date! Thanks for reading and for taking the time to leave the comment!
Does anybody know if there is a way to post a pic ???
That is cool. Hope you have a pic of the nest.
We watched as a mama Cardinal built her nest in fiscal tree on our deck next to a window. This morning there were two little eggs inside. This evening they are GONE without a trace. So disappointed!
I am so sad with you. We once had something similar happen and so we know how disappointing it is.
So the other day I was trimming my lilac bush, I looked down saw a nest and 3 baby cardinals all over the ground! I was horrified. I picked them up put them back in the nest and back in the bush. Mother and father came with worms over and over again. I never actually saw them go into the nest but they were in the lilacs. So I watched and watched. The next morning I sat waiting to see the mother and father and nothing! All day I watched and no parents. So I climbed up on porch looked into the nest and the birds looked pecked at bloody and dead. It broke my heart. I had no idea they were living in the lilacs. Now the babies are dead( I buried them) and the parents are gone. Any idea what went wrong?
So sorry to hear that. I have read quite a bit about this and I have not found anything that said the parents would kill their own young. In fact, everything I have read said that what you did was just fine. The whole “abandon the nest” thing when they smell humans seems to be a myth. While I cannot tell you what happened to the babies I think it would be a real anomaly if the parents killed them. I assume the parents abandoned their nest because some other predator killed their babies.
Thank you for responding. I am thinking you are right. I did research as well and it seems the parents shouldn’t have hurt them. I’m wondering if the fall caused way more injuries then I could see. They were tiny maybe only 2-3 days old.
We had the same wondrous experience!! We had a nest up high behind a light fixture on our bank porch. I spent alot of time waiting and watching. It was all worth it! I was privy to only one fledgling taking flight but I will never forget it. I see the parents gathering food but only saw the babies twice. Would love to know how long they hang out w parents. I think until they have all their feathers. Thanks for sharing your experience. Georgia Skuro Va. Bch. Va.
Thanks for sharing! I will be interested to hear how long they hang around their parents. I watched after ours fledged and it seemed like they stayed together for quite a while. Be interested to hear what your observations are.
We live in Fort Worth, Texas, and had a virtually identical experience in our large knock off rose bush on our covered back patio. So glad to hear your story! Ours were 3 and one day quickly after they were born they were gone when we came home from work. God and His amazing creatures are incredible to watch! Thanks for your story and God Bless!!!!
Thank you for sharing! Blessings to you!
Well I think that is what they do. A few days after the birds are hatched they fly away.
I had six eggs in a nest. A few days after they hatched, they were gone. I thought that a predator might have gotten them. A friend told me that he thinks that is the nature of cardinal’s.
I do not know……
Thank you for all the info. This is my second group this summer. I have pics also. The eggs were laid Sat, Sun, & Mon. She is sitting and staring at me. I only go near when she leaves to peek inand take pics. I’m afraid something happened to my first crew on the 8th – 9th nights. I would love to think that they flew, but have my doubts. They had just begun to feather. I shall protect the lower part of the door to my screened-in porch to prevent the nest from being robbed. I can only hope they flew while I was in church.
Let’s hope the first batch flew away! I had the same sinking feeling when I discovered our gone. I was lucky that we have a feeder very close to the nest and i saw mom and pop with the babies the next day. It was very fun to watch them finish growing up. If the babies I observed were the ones we hatched we got two males and female. The males hung around a few weeks but the female hung around until she was grown.
Hi, I’ve had 3 baby cardinals in a nest in one of my front bushes for about 8 days now. This afternoon when I came home from work the patents were flying around the bush tirelessly and chirping like crazy. I got up on a chair and looked in the nest – no babies. I looked everywhere around on the ground but no sign of them. It’s now 8 hours later and the parents are still doing the same thing. I’m so worried about the babies. Do you think that the parents cannot find them? Or do you think they are around and ok if the parents are still around??
I am just not sure. We had a similar situation here last week. I found a baby on a fence. Mom and dad were going crazy. Sounds like your parents were doing the same. Hope it turns out well for you.
I enjoyed it. Thanks
It was 7 days the baby cardnils left the nest but i think the neighbors cat had something to do with that.
Too bad. I would agree, if they were gone at 7 days something “helped them” leave the nest!
My niece brought us a baby Cardinal, which she thought had been injured, as it was on the ground. We’ve had baby birds before and knew to feed it NO water, only wet cat food, using tweezers. We alternated between wetting it with pedialite and water. “St. Louie” had one bad night, but turned herself around the following day. She has been raised by my daughter, feeding her cat food mash every hour throughout the day and every 4-5 hours at night. She’s been here for 10 days. My daughter plans to take her outside in her little nest, for brief periods daily, and eventually let her stay outdoors, when we know the weather will be good for several days. If anyone finds a baby on the ground, the best thing to do is watch for awhile, and see if the parents are keeping up the ace of baby. If not, hang a basket on a branch with a “nest” you make, inside the basket. Watch carefully and hopefully, the parents return. Otherwise, take it in or do a nature preserve. There are 100’s of sites online, telling step by step how to care for baby birds.
Thanks for all of the great tips!
Good to know! I saw a baby on the ground, my Pomeranian chased it from behind a bush this morning, had it tumbling around and it perched on some branches I had trimmed off two weekends prior. The parents were frantic and bomb diving us and then they got it back there where I had planted lush grass fully grown and it was on the pavement getting fed by them. I came home later and saw it perched on a very low limb under the bush after I brought my pup out with a short leash and back in. I just went out in the dark without my pup and went looking for the chick. I heard a rustle of leaves on the other side of the yard under the persimmon tree that the Cardinals use each year and looked down with a flashlight to see it sitting on a tuft of grass and fall leaves surrounded by wet dirt and ruffling its feathers a lot. I looked closer and ants and slugs were surrounding it. Not all over, just around the bird. I had to think of something to get it off of the ground and saw a flower hanging basket with dead plants and some fallen leaves, added a handful of fresh grass and hung it from the persimmon against another Japanese bush. It fought me a little while I tried gently got it with my gardening gloved hand. I put it on the grass pile in the basket and it’s just sitting there peering at me. So cute, it looked right at me this morning when perched on the twigs. I don’t know where the parents go at night, but I am glad that I found it, it’s better in my backyard and now in the hanging basket away from the trunk and near a thick bush that it can possibly use when ready. I will see about feeding it tomorrow, if need be.
Hopefully the parents find it and continue feeding it. I have seen a cardinal in my yard feed a baby on the ground and this weekend I watched a robin feed her baby on the ground.
There was a baby cardinal on tree outside my bedroom window. Seemed to be learning to fly flitting from branch to branch. Then I saw a bird chase it. For several days afterwards the mama cardinal kept making a chirping noise and it looked as if the parents were searching for the baby. Made me sad. But then I saw the Cardinals with the baby a few days later. But, here is the strange thing. The baby is now almost as big as her mother and is still with them. The 3 are never far from each other. And, today, I saw the male feeding the young bird some squirrel food I throw in the yard. I just don’t understand why the baby is still with the parents. It flies very well. But I love seeing them together. Makes me feel happy.
Our experience was similar. After they left the nest they hung out in our yard with mom and dad for quite a bit of time. Thanks so much for sharing your story!
I’m a country girl transplanted in the city but am lucky enough to have cardinals and other birds nesting all around me. I feed them all and have tracked their progress the best I can from my apartment patio. I have seen last spring’s cardinals offspring growing up and it is amazing to watch. But I have never had the “birds eye view” you got! I loved the article and photos you posted and have never seen better anywhere! They are definitely “wall worthy”! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you so much for reading and thank you for the compliments! My wife took those pictures and she is so happy you liked them.
Loved your post! We have a cardinal nest with 2 eggs in a low hanging mango tree branch in the backyard. Its been 15 days since the first egg was laid, not sure how long after she laid the second. Momma bird has been sitting the nest for at least a week and a half, only leavng for short periods at a time. On Saturday night we had people over and I noticed sunday morning Momma was not in the nest, but poppa bird was nearby. I had blocked off right below the nest from walking but the sitting area with small fire pit is still only 10ft or so from the nest branch, im worried that the commotion scared them away. Have not seen either parent bird since. Is it safe to say the parents have abandoned the nest? How long can the eggs go without incubation near the end of the sitting cycle? Should I intervene and put the eggs in an incubator? We live in Florida so the days are warm but the past week the temperatures in the nights and mornings have been anywhere between 45-65. Any advice appreciated!
Have you been able to peek into the nest? My experience has shown that it is very hard to get them to abandon a nest. Generally it means the eggs have been eaten or broken. When Papa is hanging around but not mother, I generally assume the babies have been forced out of the nest. This would be bad in your case because they babies would be too small to survive for long outside the nest. As for the incubation, generally 24 hours is stretching how long they can go with out incubation. Let me know how this works out.
Yes, I’ve been able to look into the nest from above and both eggs still appear to be whole as of this morning. I haven’t touched them so if they have damage that is not visible from above then i wouldnt know. Still no sign of the parent birds.
Sorry to hear that. Every hour that they are uncovered is bad. Wonder what could have made the parents move on?
Hi! I found this post while searching for cardinal habits after finding an empty nest in our rosebush and then a few days later one egg. I first saw the egg yesterday morning. No sign of mama bird or other eggs when I’ve peaked in. I was so glad to read that mama doesn’t start sitting until all eggs are laid. My question is, do you know how long the process of laying all eggs can take? I’m hopeful she’ll be back to incubate soon!
Glad you found us! I am not sure of the exact number of days but it goes fairly quickly. The ones I have observed basically laid an egg a day.
I love it, we have a nest her in a bush at our patio. We will be watching
It is truly a miracle. Enjoy!
HELP! A cardinal family nested on my porch but sadly, one of the hatchlings fell into my pool and drowned:( The birds have nested here before. How do I prevent this from happening again??
Not sure I can help you. The birds will not tolerate much interference. The only thing I can suggest is keep a close eye on them and try and rescue any that fall out of the nest as soon as possible. If you find one on the ground you can generally put it back in the nest and the parents will accept it.
I found 3 baby red cardinal in my rose bush and I have seen both mother and father. Came home and the nest was empty I don’t think they were big enough to leave the nest so I of course as a mother my self am worried if they are okay. Do the parents love them at any point?
I am not an expert, but my observations is they show love in some of their actions. Last year we had a cardinal fall out of the nest before it could fly. The dad stayed with the baby for a whole day. This kind of commitment to me looked a lot like love.
Thank you for posting the pictures and narrative! Cardinals are my favorite, and we have many in the country. I have never found a nest, though. You are fortunate!!
It was very fortunate. We have had plants on the porch years and never had them nest there. Do not know why they chose to build their nest there that year but we were truly blessed and appreciative of the opportunity it gave us! Thanks for reading!
Mine was a 16 day process from hatch to flight! 3 baby Cardinals were born 4/08/17 and took flight 4/24/17 they grew so fast!!
I completely agree! Truly amazing how quickly they are able to go from egg to flight! Thanks for sharing your comment and thanks for reading!
I just ran across your article… We to have Cardinals on the Front Porch! We are super excited. I noticed her building the nest in the bird feeder on out front porch this Saturday. Today my husband called me on my way home from work and told me there are 4 eggs 🙂 I’m home now and she is sitting on them. We have a nice view from our living room to that bird feeder. I hope our luck is as good as yours! Thank you for your blog.
Very exciting! Thanks for reading!
We have four adorable baby cardinals… I watch the dad feed them every morning while I get ready for work and the momma is sitting on them by the time I leave. I have taken some great picture on my pone. This morning on the way to my truck I noticed a Wren feeding her 4 babies in a little birdhouse in the flowerbed. I’m very excited!
Thanks for your photo and the story. Obviously this is a popular story after so many years! Did your cardinals ever reuse the nest? Have you seen them in a new nest? I’m asking because I have a new with 3 babies in a tree near my window. I want them to return, either to this old nest or a new nest. Should I remove the nest after the babies fledge so the parents wil build a new nest?
Glad you found it. We left the nest right where it was. Sure enough, next Spring they used it again. Unfortunately something found the nest that year. It really disturbed the nest and ate the eggs. They never returned. I am not sure but perhaps they will reuse the nest as long as they feel it is a safe place to raise their young.
Love this story. My three cardinals just flew away today. Exactly 8 days after hatch. I took pictures everyday. Even got some with mom sitting on the eggs. It was fantastic.
Thank you for sharing!. It was really rewarding to watch.
So cool to get such a detailed disc. I have a nest right outside my art room window – but it’s too high to see inside & see the eggs! Bummer!!!
I think I would have to get a ladder! 🙂
I realize this post is five years old but we have a nest of three baby cardinals in our yard right now (we live in Alabama). They hatched 8 days ago so I expect they will be leaving the nest soon.
Thanks for sharing!
Glad you found us!
This a second year in a row for us. Female has babies on our front porch in a little wooden swing basket. I’m worried when they leave the nest.
I hope they will be fine. I think you are lucky to have had them come back to the same place two years in a row.
Thank you for sharing as we moved from the country and my front porch hanging Boston fern became a home we have a lot of beautiful cardinals here and love watching this nest, but we have avoided using our beautiful front porch as the nest is directly across from the front door hanging from the overhang. Can’t wait to see the babies should be very soon !
I think I would give up using the porch to be able to see this. Good choice! Thanks you for reading and for taking time to leave your story.
I have three baby Cardinals in a bush near my front porch! They have the biggest mouth I have ever seen! LOL I too am enjoying this adventure!
Watch closely because it will be over before you are ready! Thanks so much for reading and leaving the comment!
We have a cardinal nest in a silk tree that he set outside it has 4 eggs in it. We can set at our kitchen table watch the amazing process. It has been a good experience to share with our grandkids.
So happy for you. We have not had the opportunity to observe this since I wrote the article. Think it would be very fun to share it with our grand kids as well.
I love your story, so glad you shared! I currently have a nest in my porch light and we are at about day 9, haven’t seen mom in a day and started getting worried. Got a pic and the babies (that’s what i call em) look to be sleeping. So… thanks to your story I feel better knowing they are very close to embarking on their journey!!
So glad the post helped give you some comfort. Your babies should be very close to leaving. It is almost as much fun when they leave as they are easy to identify. You will get to see them hang around with mom and dad for a few days.
Just found your website. I live in East Texas, and have just been blessed with a cardinal nest a week ago in my hanging fern basket on my back patio. We are up to 3 eggs as of last night. Mom has been on the nest all day so don’t know if there was another egg added today or not. She hasn’t moved this entire day, so perhaps incubation has commenced. I’m so fascinated I can hardly get anything else done. We have a lot of storms blow through here so I’ve been wracking my brain to think of how to protect the nest. Safety-pin a towel around it? Found the nest May 3rd when a hail storm came through. I had put the fern out to catch some rain water, then it started hailing. When I yanked it back onto my patio, I noticed the nest. The next day there was egg #1. Today is one week, and there are 3. We’re expecting another storm sometime tonight or tomorrow. I’ll think of something!! Thank you so much for your website, Mr. White. I was thrilled to find it, and then it was in Texas, too. How lucky is that?? Somebody’s looking over me. And I’m looking over the cardinals. 🙂
Let’s cross our fingers and pray the storms pass us by for the next few days! Thanks for reading and taking time to tell your story.
Great story Mr. & Mrs. White!
Around April 18th or 19th we had 2 cardinals build a nest outside of our kitchen window. My wife and daughters have a first hand look at what is going on in this nest. On April 26th we had 1 cardinal egg. April 27th we had 4. April 28th only 1…
We were disappointed thinking that a predator had gotten to the nest but, the nest wasn’t disturbed. We were gone for the weekend and returned that Sunday the 30th to FIND 5 Cardinal eggs in the nest!!! We have all watched diligently the female cardinals activity and she only leaves the nest once or twice a day. This morning around 6am I checked on her and she look right at me and hopped up on the side of her nest and lowered her head into the nest. When she raised up she had half of an egg shell in her mouth and proceeded to eat the entire egg shell.
After eating the shell she lower herself back onto the nest where she currently sits.
Not sure at this time if she was cleaning up after one has hatched or of she ate one of the eggs? I have some great photo’s and a video of her eating the entire egg shell this morning.
Nature is amazing!!
That is an amazing story! I certainly hope she was cleaning up the nest!
We are now as I speak, experiencing the same blessing. We moved out of the city and I have witnessed so much since living out here. Right now I’m keeping an eye on my cardinal nest. Only thing is I don’t know when she laid the eggs, but she’s incubating them right now, so I guess it could be any day before the babies hatch
Thanks for sharing and best of luck. It really does go quick.
Hi ! I recently discovered a nest while cleaning debris from around a tree.
I watched and sure enough a beautiful cardinal came to sit on the nest. No eggs yet , I was wondering if I keep an eye will it disturb them so much they will leave the nest ?
As long as you don’t touch anything and watch from a small distance you should be fine
Thank you. She has started laying 😊
Thank you so much. I just discovered 3 eggs in the nest today! How exciting!
Janna
June 4, 2017
Thank you so much for your blog – I was really worried about my Cardinals and their baby and now I’m not, Here’s what happened…
In early May I noticed the beginnings of a bird nest in a Bouganvilla plant next to the house under a porch. (We live in Central Arizona) A few days later I noticed that there were Cardinals building that nest which made me exstatic because my mother and grandmother and I and my daughter have always loved them and felt a special bond with them. They have always been around the house (I live out away from any town or city) and when I would see one it was always special. I was thrilled that they would come onto my back porch about 8 feet away from a bank of glass doors, to build a nest. I’ve always thuoght of them as rather shy birds, but they seemed to like it when the door would be open and the tv on…
So on May 21 the nest looked complete and the Papa Bird was feeding the Momma Bird as she sat on the nest – one of the sweetest things I ever saw a bird do. Later that day when both had flown off for a few minutes, I climbed the spiral staircase right next to the nest and peeked in. I saw one spotted egg and started searching the internet for information. That’s when I found your blog – Thank you again!
The next day I checked it – Still one egg. The next day there were two eggs but the second one was creamy white, about the same size, but no spots. I went back to the internet… Learned that a Cardinal will sometimes hatch birds of different species…and in the meantime I was waiting to see if somehow that white egg would turn spotted – LOL
I watched the birds, both Momma and Papa, for days, and finally on June 2, my routine early morning check revealed a very tiny blob of living birdie. (From the unspotted egg)
As I write, the spotted egg is still there. Anyway, since June 2, I have been consumed with making sure the baby is ok, because somehow it didn’t look at all like the doves and quail who routinely lay clutches in pots on the patio and balcony. This baby bird has skin so translucent that you can see it’s heart beating in it’s body. (Yesterday when I looked in it was on it’s back and I wasn’t sure it was ok, but of course I didn’t touch it because I was always told that if you touch a baby bird, the Momma will abandon it and it will die.)
I thought it would probably die but decided to wait and watch.
Within a few minutes both Momma and Papa came back to find the bird. Papa was the first one to feed it, and when he flew away, Momma began to feed it. Then Momma sat on the nest for about 10 minutes before briefly going out for more food. It was at that point that I decided to get my laptop and sit down at the kitchen table to read more of your blog to find out whether anyone had chronicled putting a baby Cardinal back in the nest and what had happened. Lo and behold, a few of your replies talked about that very thing, and I am so grateful.
So I’ve been sitting here typing, watching Momma and Papa Cardinal care for their baby. I still dont know if the baby really is a Cardinal, because it came from a really un-Cardinal looking egg, but they are caring for it, even though it fell out of the nest and I touched it. Papa just came back to feed Momma and now she’s feeding the baby what Papa fed her. What a fascinating world we live in.
I agree! Nature is truly truly amazing when you get to observe these little miracles. I do not have proof, but I have always felt that the old mamma will abandon a baby if you touch it” saying is a wives tale. So glad to hear that your intervention may have saved this little bird.
I loved this article, as this year a mother cardinal did the same to us. She build her nest in one of the gardenia trees planted in a pot on our front porch. We decided to always go out the back door so she would not be disturbed. She laid 3 eggs and all have hatched. They have downy feathers now. I noticed the daddy cardinal going to the nest this morning so I decided to look up,”do male cardinals help feed the young?”
This is where I found your article. We can honestly say their are no dead beat dads among the cardinal family.
Thanks for the comment! Never thought about the Dads that way before. They definitely do their fair share!
I have a cardinal nest in one of my hangings plants on my patio right next to our pool with 3 sweet little eggs in it. My problem is that it’s so close to our pool I am worried about first flight and right into our pool with me not around to save. I am talking 1 foot from a very large pool! Can I move the hanging basket further down our porch away from pool? Will she come back if I move it?
Not sure. I have received a lot of comments on this article and i have never heard of anyone moving a nest. My feeling is that it is not a good idea to move it. However, I feel for you problem
I moved a nest before. They weren’t cardinals but the babies kept falling out and a couple of them died. 😢I think only 2 lived after I moved it. Itbeas moved far. Just moved into a more secured area.
I wanted to post this loving and tragic experience with a cardinal family. For over two weeks now, I have been watching the magic of Mother Nature as a female cardinal began building her nest in a tree located by the driveway. After about two days, she began sitting constantly on her nest during which time she endured several afternoon summer showers. The male cardinal never lost sight of her. Daily they would leave together to feed, with the female always returning in a short period of time. Well, about 8 days ago, I noticed the incredible activity of the feeding begin. Both birds assisted in the process of scouring the area for bugs, etc. From a distance and a powerful set of binoculars, I could see that there were 3 mouths to feed. As each day wore on, the activities continued and you could now begin to hear the chatter of the young. Just yesterday, which was approx. day 8, the three could be seen near the ledge of the nest as if they were beginning the process of taking flight. It was so hard to watch but I admired their bravery. Later in the day, I noticed that one had in fact fallen to the ground and the parents now were busy feeding the two remaining in the nest and the other on the ground. The decision was made to allow Mother Nature to take its course with the hopes of the small bird hopping about two feet to some low shrubbery for protection for the night. About 3 hours later and after night fall, my husband slipped out to check on the small bird and noticed a snake near the area. Sure enough, he noticed a bulge in the snake’s belly so he swiftly killed the snake out of frustration. This morning as I went outside it was eerily quiet. My hopes were that the other two were securely napping in their nest. Neither of the parent birds were around,which I thought very suspicious. After about 15 minutes of watching, I noticed that indeed the parent birds were checking out the ground nearby. As I investigated, my heart sank. There on the ground were the other two and it appears they had been there for several hours. All had now perished. As I mourned their loss with the parents, I noticed that they both are continuing to come to those small birds in hopes to feed them. They seem to cry relentlessly. I have searched the internet for how long this mourning continues and have concluded that there is not a lot of information on this process. What I am discovering is that as long as they see and smell their babies they will continue with their efforts to nurture them. I cannot wait here and do nothing while the ants will soon find them, so I am providing a proper burial for them. How tragic.
However, as I have read and witnessed there is so much beauty in watching birds. No question it must be from a distance. With the availability of binoculars there is no need to get close while they are nesting. Without a doubt, the cardinal birds share the parenting and all aspects of the nurturing of their young. It was so beautiful to watch. I wish my experience had a better ending. I am hopeful that this pair of birds will again build a nest and will raise a family with a much better ending next time
Thank you for sharing that sad but touching story. If nothing bother’s their nest I would say that thy have a good chance of returning to it next spring. Best of luck, and thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your beautiful adventure. I am experiencing mine now and your words help me to understand mine alittle better. I’ve been blessed with four babies and it’s amazing watching the dutiful parents.
Much thanks
You are welcome! Thanks for taking time to leave your comment
Hi this is the second year we had the cardinals come back. Last year momma laid 3 eggs, and I was more than happy to see all of them hatch and attempt to learn to fly. This year she came back, and laid four eggs. One has already hatched, but the other 3 have yet too? It seriously breaks my heart, I’m praying for the absolute best. We’ve noticed the eggs get darker?
We haven’t observed a lot of cardinal eggs hatching but we have observed lots of chicken and duck eggs hatching. If the eggs did not hatch within a day or two of the first I would be very concerned too. Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best!
I found a nest in the bush outside my door on Tuesday and last night I went to show my 2 year old niece and there were Cardinal eggs in it! I see 2 now and have not seen the female around.
Keep watching. She may not be through laying yet. Once she is through laying she will not go very far for very long
Awesome! I have a mom and dad that appear to be rather young. I first noticed the dad feeding a young fledgling on the ground about 10 days ago and thought maybe the young bird fell out of the nest. But no, when the dad flew away the youngster flew away shortly afterwards. Since then I have seen the youngster several times with one or other of the parents. The youngster feeds its self now. Today I am seeing both parents with the youngster, who has started to show a little color, but still can’t tell if it is male or female. I’m just wondering if it’s normal for all three to still be together. Or how long does a youngster usually stay with its parents?
Ours stayed together for several weeks. We were not sure when they split up as each day it got harder to tell who was the baby and who was the adult bird.
I’m a writer and I write on my porch even though it’s in the 90s because I love watching the birds in my forested back yard. About a week ago, I noticed a male and female cardinal building a nest right outside my screen porch window (it’s a second story porch). For the last five days, mom has been sitting on the nest. She leaves about every half hour, I assume to get food. I can’t quite get high enough to see inside the nest, although I can see the edge of at least one egg. My concern is . . . dad seems to have disappeared. I’ve read about males feeding the females while they incubate the eggs, but no one’s helping this poor female. If the male has been gotten by one of the hawks or other predators, I don’t know how this female will manage. I welcome your thoughts. (One other odd thing. I can see the female quite clearly with binoculars and her beak is always open. She reminds me of a kid with a stuffy nose. Could this be normal?) I think I need to go inside. I’m worrying way too much out here!
I am really not a bird expert so I am not sure about her open beak. My guess is it has something to do with getting rid of heat. We have chickens and ducks and they both do the same thing when it gets hot. Not sure about dad. If he is indeed gone, it may be hard on mom. He is suppossed to keep the nest clean and be on the look out for predators. At least the babies don’t stay small too long. Hoping she can handle it. Thanks for taking time to leave your story.
An update. Two babies hatched a couple of days ago and Dad reappeared! I was so happy. He and Mama are taking turns feeding the babies and so far all is well.
Great news! Thanks for sharing.
Great news! Thanks for sharing. Maybe the cardinal story can find its way into one of your books!
That’s an idea!
I’ve been enjoying the visit of a pair of cardinals to my bird feeder by the breakfast window most of this year . I’ve watched the male feed the female. Very touching scene. Don’t know where or if they have nested. Haven’t seen any other cardinals come but this couple. Do the little ones stay with the adults for some time or separate and are on their own once out of the nest? Appreciate your experience on this. Thanks.
I am pretty sure the babies stay with the parents for some time after hatching. We watched ours and I am certain they stayed with the parents until they matured to the point that we could not tell the babies from the parents. Do not know an exact amount of time they spend with them, but our experience seems to suggest they definitely do. Thanks for reading!
My son was cutting down a honeysuckle bush near the garden when he noticed a nest in a branch he had cut out. After a little research, we found that it was a cardinal nest (with 3 eggs). We left the remainder of the honeysuckle and moved the nest to a lilac that the honeysuckle was growing into. After a lengthy search, the female found the new location of the nest and settled in.
I’m a little concerned because the nest isn’t as stable or well-hidden as it had been. I’m leaving her alone for the rest of the day (I’m sure it’s been a rough day for her). Should I try to secure and camouflage the nest better or just leave it alone?
I am happy to hear that she found the nest and went back to it. If it is very unstable I would think you may want to secure it more. I do not know this to be a fact, but I have heard that the birds spend so much time building the nest and laying the eggs that they will endure a lot to save the nest and the babies. Best of luck!
Our baby left the nest so awesome
Awesome!
We just noticed a female sitting in a nest in our Cherry Tree outside our dining room window. I am so happy. I went and bought a squirrel proof bird feeder and bought special food for her (Yes specifically for Cardinals) and placed it close to the tree so she didn’t have far to go to eat. I am so excited but no do not know how long she has been there so I will be watching closely to see little birds. Any idea if she will cone back and use the nest again or is it a one shot deal???
How exciting! Our cardinals came back for a second year. however, something ate the eggs before they hatched and they never came back after that. So it appears to me that they will returned as long as they feel they can safely raise their babies there. I would be interested to hear the experiences of others though to see if my theory is correct.
I found your site while researching how long baby cardinals hang around their parents. I wasn’t sure if my kids were normal or if they had been spoiled by their over indulgent parents.
I have a bird feeder on my back porch which attracts a lot of cardinals. I noticed that I have babies that fly up with either their mother or father . The baby will perch on the rail of the balcony and the parents go to the feeder and bring seeds to them… The kids are as big as their parents and fly just as well… I’m not sure how long this has been gong on. but like a spoiled child, they sit there crying and fluttering their wings until daddy or mama feeds them…. .
Never heard of this before. They do sound like spoiled little kids!
Amazing! I googled and found this story after finding my own cardinal nest yesterday while trimming back the bushes and trees to help expose the wild growing blackberries to more sun. I wasn’t sure what type of eggs they were at first but my boyfriend guessed it correctly. So, now we are looking forward to sharing our adventure of watching new life amerge (kinda like our life together merges). We will post pics and keep you updated. Blessings, Glenda
Thanks for the note! Watching this miracle unfold is truly a moving experience. Hope you get to enjoy every day of it. BTW, be sure to tell your boyfriend to watch how much the father cardinal does. He works just as hard as the mother to make sure the babies are raised successfully! 😉
I live on a lake in an apartment. It is really neat to see all different birds, minus the geese. Lol. They can be obnoxious. The goslings are out though. (: we have Cranes, blackbirds, blue jays, ducks of course.
About a week ago, a male cardinal came up to my window. I didn’t realize he was scouting for places for a nest until yesterday. I saw the female in the corner of my balcony. I saw her about three more times and then noticed the little twigs forming! The nest fell down twice as she was relying on Christmas tree lighting around the top of the deck. This morning I awoke to her on top of my Chandelier facing the nest completely fallen down. I took my dogs for a walk and gathered some long pine needles, small branches, and then jute string and some moss. I wasn’t sure if she would come back, but she did and so did the male (: hoping the third nest is the charm and it works out for them. So cool to see so close!
Did you leave the pine needles, etc. on the porch for them? I think that was a good idea and a good way to encourage them to keep building. Please send an update and let us know if they get their nest built. Thanks for sharing!
I have a nest of cardinals on my front porch. Surprisingly we have not been attacked but the nest is behind a fall wreath that I can’t move for a couple weeks. The babies look exactly like the photos above and I have seen the Mom and Dad. We are blessed to be able to see it day by day. Thank you for sharing!
You are welcome. So glad you read the article. Thanks for taking time to leave your comment.
I have three baby red cardinal birds in a bush outside of my window it is raining should I put an umbrella over the bush they are crying and haven’t stopped two of them have jumped out of the nest what do I do
I understand the desire to help, but I am afraid that if you put up the umbrella the parents will not come back. Sorry that I don’t have the answer.
As I was about to trim the bougainvillea that sort of died over the winter, I spied a mama cardinal flying to & fro a nest she had built where the spindly dead branches poked up under my awning. I haven’t seen much going on lately but there are a lot of “chip chip chip” sounds out there right now. Is this what the babies sound like?
Yes it is. I would wait wait to trim the bougainvillea for a couple of weeks.
Thanks. Do they only lay one batch of eggs per season?
I am not certain. We live in South Central Texas where it is warm 9 months a year. We have had them on our porch two or three times and even in our long season they have only raised on set of young per year
We are in Florida. I am wondering if this is the same female cardinal that flew into my house last year. She was hanging out in the same bougainvillea. It was quite an ordeal to get her out.
It could be. I am not certain of this but, from watching the birds with the babies, I believe the parents stay in their territory after they raise their young.
Hi there. We live in west central Ohio. We have been bird feeders for years. We currently have a Carolina wren nest in a hanging pot on our east facing covered porch, and a cardinal nest in a boxwood right off our front porch steps. Needless to say, we get a lot of harassment when we come out the front door!
Our cardinal is very spooky, and she has four eggs in a very exposed spot at the top of the bush (3.5 feet above ground). We don’t have the snake issue you have, but definitely have roaming cats.
The wren nested in one of the two pots filled with straw that I hang high under the eaves every winter to give them shelter. The birds are marginal here, depending on winter temps. These help their survival.
Last year, due to my tardiness and the cold, I didn’t remove our winter wreath from it’s hanger beside the front door, and ended up with a nest of four baby wrens, which I photographed, and enjoyed so much. Wrens are smart, and I was working under my sunbrella one day on the sidewalk in front of the porch, when the mama landed on the sidewalk beside me with a huge larva in her mouth, looked me over for quite a while, and I told her, soothingly, that I was OK. She believed me, and went up to feed her four.
I hope that I can convince mama cardinal that I am OK too. She doesn’t seem to cozy with the idea. 🙂 Fortunately, they fledge young. I use my front porch as my potting area, and this is prime time. Tomorrow we move all the potting soil and pots off the porch, as quickly as possible.
While I know this is a cardinal story, I should write one on wrens. I agree with you that they are truly smart creatures. We have had several wrens nest in various places on our property and each year I am surprised with their resourcefulness. My experience with them has been much like yours. Mama wrens seem to be more tolerant of our intrusions. I also enjoy watching wrens much more than cardinals. I truly love the way that they seem to flit all over the place. I even swear that I have seen them walk upside down on walls. Thanks so much for sharing your story.
My first experience with them years ago was when one nested on one of my hanging baskets, and I poured cold water into the basket onto her nearly fledged baby. He bolted out of the basket and landed on the porch floor! With gloved hands, I picked him up, and was rewarded with a very sharp peck in the back my mama! I put him back in the nest after his unwanted bath, and they moved on. I have respected the wren ever since lol
But you must know that our backyard is like an airport for cardinals. We must have 10 pair, and the pecking order is extraordinary. Alpha male and females eat first. Then the lesser males, and the lesser females. It is fascinating to watch. I have pictures from April snows that show 12 cardinals sitting in our green ash (which is still alive, with our help), waiting for their number to be called! It’s like being at the supermarket deli!! lol
Hello we have cardinals that nest each year in the same spot for about the last 4 yrs. This year something doesn’t seem right. It was around April 7 and we had 3 eggs. As of today the eggs still haven’t hatched but the cardinal stays on the nest daily. Do you think the eggs could still hatch? If not, will the cardinal leave one day? Thanks
I think you are right, it has definitely been too long. I really do not know why she is still sitting on them. Maybe she is a young mother and just can’t give up hope. I am certain she will eventually have to leave. I hope she leaves soon because the longer she sits there the chances increase that a passing cat or snake will find her.
Thankfully the nest is in a pretty safe place on a chandelier on my front porch. I guess we just wait to see. It’s a little sad. Thanks for your time.
I was so surprised to find a cardinal nest with 3 eggs in the top of a bush by my side door a few days ago. We rarely use that door so that should be a fairly good place, even though the nest is hardly covered it’s so near the top of the bush. Today I was even more surprised to find mama bird away from the nest and 3 tiny babies all cuddled up. I am praying they are safe from harm and all survive. So sweet to see them.
It is sweet. I am sure you will enjoy watching them grow.
Enjoyed your bird story. We now have a nest of Cardonal eggs on our front porch.
Thank you! Hope you get to enjoy the process like we did.
I have a cardinal’s nest with three babies that are several days away from fledging. Unfortunately, a local prowling cat has discovered the nest and is stalking it. The nest is between my screened in porch and a jasmine vine. Right now I’m trying the technique of using a sprinkler below the level of the nest, sending out a low spray of water in the area. I hope this will keep the cat away.
What a great idea! Truly hope it works.
I have a pair that have built a nest in my vining squash plants in the vegetable garden. She left for a day and came back today. There are 3 eggs in the nest and she is sitting on them. Hopefully the snakes-racers, corn and rat will leave it alone. I am in FL. Loved your timetable. Gives me an estimate
Glad you liked the article. Best of luck to your future babies!
Thank you for sharing this! I have 3 outside our office window and was worried about how long the would be there! It is very exciting to watch!
You are welcome. The process doesn’t last long. I am sure you will enjoy the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the comment!
Great story. Love the country as well!
I live in Texas and had a nest right outside my kitchen window. Three babies were born last Thursday and 9 days later (yesterday) they decided to leave the nest. There’s two in the bushes now and one is in my backyard in a bush. They are the cutest little things. One got in our garage and I had to pick it up and put it back in the bush. They chirp all day and it was wonderful to experience and I’ll be sad when they are gone.
Thanks for sharing! Glad you got to watch it all. We have not had any hatch-lings that we could observe in the past couple of years and we have missed be able to observe the little miracle play out.
I posted last year (9-20-17) about my parent cardinals bringing their babies to the bird feeder and feeding them… They are doing it again, The babies perch themselves on a rail of my deck and cry and flap their wings… The dutiful parents go to the feeder and bring them dinner… Really spoiled kids I think… So fun to watch..
I have 3 cardinal hatchlings as of this morning in a nest in my hibiscus, however, we have not seen the male or female all day. Worried as it is 90 degrees here. TY
Thank you
Dear Mr White, I just came upon your posts while doing a query on the number of clutches cardinals have per year. I love reading about how cardinals spark a special joy in so many!
We live in midcoast Maine and have a lovely female cardinal frequenting our feeders. It is late September with fall definately in the air, yet for all the world, she seems to be taking a few seeds for herself and then flies into a stand of fir trees where she is greeted by the sweetest little chatter of squeaks. Could it be that she has hatched out chicks this late? We did see a very scruffy male (hopefully molting) here a few times a couple of weeks ago, but not since.
I look forward to everyone’s input.
Fellow Bird Nerd
Thank you for the lovely comment. My apologies for not getting back. Since my wife and I purchased Texas Gardener Magazine I no longer have time to keep this blog up. You may have a second crop of baby cardinals. I know here in Texas it is not unheard of to have a second round of hatchlings. However, I would think it may be rarer in your climate because babies born this late might not have time to fully mature before cold weather sets in. Not sure if you have new babies or not but I would think it is entirely possible. Thanks for the question
So enjoyed these pics… we have been watching a mama cardinal feed her “ son” who is bigger and fatter than her! This is almost mid October so we were surprised at the late fall timing plus that she was still feeding him. After looking online we learned that’s normal.
Thank you for your insight! The exact same has happened to us! Except our momma laid 4 eggs, as of today we discovered 3 have hatched! It is so exciting to watch! We are curious though if they all survive when they leave the nest 🙂 thank you again! Love your photos!
Thanks for the post. My wife and I are excited to have our first experience with this. We watched her form the nest and now we have 3 eggs but she is not sitting yet..
We have a cardinal nest in a sweet olive just “out front”. I noticed it only after momma flew away trying to distract me. She has 4 eggs which should be hatching soon. I began searching for info and came across your blog, luckily. I keep an eye, waiting for hatching. I can’t wait for babies to fledge. Thank you also for the poppy info. My mom used to buy one every year.
Last year two Cardinals built a nest in an orange tree on our porch. I started watching and taking pictures. They had seven eggs to start. Then the two smallest eggs disappeared. In about 10 days 5 precious babies hatched. I was so proud. The next morning they were gone. Our porch is on the second story. We have many raccoons so that was probably the culprit. Maybe a snake.
This year the cardinals came back!! Yesterday I discovered 4 eggs. We will see what Mother Nature does this year.
We saw a beautiful cardinal pair flying in and out of a tree in our front yard. For a while we haven’t seen them but just the other day we found an egg at the base of the tree. I’ve done my best to incubate it but I couldn’t find the nest to return it to. Not sure if the little guy inside our egg is still alive, hopefully we’ll be able to give him a makeshift home if he hatches.
Does anyone know when the mom stops sitting on the nest after they have hatched? We have found a nest with two birds in it and two eggs. Based on pictures we’ve seen we think they might be 4 or 5 days old. The two unhatched eggs probably not viable. I haven’t seen the mom since 8pm last night in the nest. I’ve seen the dad come in and out. I’m afraid we scared her off? When I look inside the nest which is right up against our screen porch it’s hard to tell if they are just sleeping all the time or if they died? I am worried they got cold last night when she didn’t come back.
Thank you for the beautiful story my grandkids call me the bird lady. Watched the mother cardinal build her nest in my rose bush and watched her sitting and daddy feeding her. Today the babies are hatched how I love watching the momma and daddy bringing them food. My first experience with this God is Good ❤️
I live in the Texas hill country and my friend brought me a cardinal baby. He also brought fishing worms. I cut the worms into very small pieces and drop it into its mouth and I will put my finger in and let it suck my finger so the worm will be swallowed. Seems to be working since baby is quite noisy at times and wants attention.
I have a pretty little female cardinal that just laid her 3rd egg in my grill. As much as we love grilling outdoors, we don’t dare trust moving these precious eggs. Can’t wait to see the babies.
I had baby cardinals in the bush outside my front door and today they are gone. Does this mean they will not come back to this nest?
I know that one of our cardinals returned to the same nest for at least two seasons.
I been watching our mama and papa cardinals too however I just located both babies dead and on the ground. What could have happened? The winds have been harsh these past few days however the nest is in tact. I am devastated.
Very sad. Not sure what could have happened. Hopefully she will lay again.
We had a cardinal lay two eggs last week on our hanging wreath which is attached to our front door. We see her come and go but she does not seem to be sitting on the eggs ALL the time. Is this because she sees us and gets scared? Does she have to be incubating the eggs 24/7 in order for then to hatch? Thanks for your expertise!
I am not sure. Hopefully someone in the comment thread will know more.
I live in a western suburb of Chicago and have enjoyed many cardinal seasons. This year the nest is in a forsythia bush. I love the distinct peep the babies make and the parents hovering when babies are out and about. It dies inhibit my gardening because I hate to disturb the parents. Thanks for sharing I know my grandkids love it
At least your cardinals put their nest on your back porch. Ours have decided to make their nest on our front porch. Which is our main entrance into the house. She has 3 eggs in the nest and I’m afraid that the eggs won’t hatch. Every time we go in and out of the house she flys out of the porch .
I thoroughly enjoyed your story! We are currently watching baby #1 from a set of Cardinals we have at our house (in town, ha ha). I had to put the cat in the back porch because, as you probably know, Cardinals are not good a disguising that they have a baby about. They are rather loud and draw attention so as soon as the 1rst baby landed, the cat was up and headed that way! Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures/story!
Love your story. My daily visiting cardinals eggs just recently hatched and today is first day out of the nest. What a beautiful sight.
What a Wonderful story! I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan , the National Forest version of ” the Country” my Dad was Nature
Man. My Sister, Mom & i grew up following my
Dad through the woods , camping,watching my dad fishing out in the middle of a stream , fly fishing pole in 1 hand Waterfall as backdrop. It is a Beautiful painting fresh in my mind 55 years later. Larry, my dad,
never said ” i love you”, we were not close , however, the Legacy he left me was a love for Nature and that is more precious to me than anything else he failed to do. More relevant 2 your story, we have a cardinal sitting on 4 eggs in a Barberry shrub outside the breezeway. If the window was clean I’d have great photos!
2 eggs broke from her leaving nest 2 fast if we walked out door( my Theory)& surprised her. She replaced them w/ 2 more. 7/27/19 , first 2eggs hatched. Now I’m worried the always hungry babies will suffocate in this 88degree heat as Mom sits on unhatched eggs. Im keeping an eye on them. Daddy is helping out. This is Refreshing
🌎🌲🌲🌲🎼🎼🎼🎼🚴🎶