It’s been so sweet listening to our cardinals sing this summer, and now they have some youngsters exploring the world around them.
This one seemed particularly interested in our birdbath so I was able to get some fuzzy pictures through the sliding glass doors. He kept picking up and putting down catkins, splinters, and twigs, as if he was learning what might or might not be edible. He never did go into the water, though.
So, art thou feathered, art thou flown,
Thou naked thing? — and canst alone
Upon the unsolid summer air
Sustain thyself, and prosper there?
Shall no more with anxious note
Advise thee through the happy day,
Thrusting the worm into thy throat,
Bearing thine excrement away?
Alas, I think I see thee yet,
Perched on the windy parapet,
Defer thy flight a moment still
To clean thy wing with careful bill.
And thou are feathered, thou art flown;
And hast a project of thine own.
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay
(The Fledgling)
The fledgling Cardinal looks like he just woke up from a sound nap.
Scruffy is a word that popped into my mind when I saw him. 🙂
Lovely!
Thank you, Gini!
I like the poem Barbara and look at this brave young soul exploring the world outside the nest and on his own, away from siblings. Imagine how that must feel – probably overwhelming so it was taking baby steps, saving the dip in the birdbath for another time.
I love the themes and old-fashioned English Edna St. Vincent Millay used in her poems. Some of them are so long, though! A day or two before this I think I saw three of them flitting about in the rhododendrons outside our windows so it looks like they did go their separate ways.
I like the archaic style of writing and it worked perfectly. I remember when the cardinal nested in the barberry bush at the side of the house, I was so excited to watch and then assumed that the family would be hanging around and I’d see the little ones, but the only one that returned was the male as it came by for chipped peanuts or safflower seeds – the rest of the family did not (while I was there anyway). I had to stop with the peanuts as the squirrels got piggy with them, but I enjoyed seeing the chickadees digging in. You are fortunate to have a window to watch them and get photos. I saw that Connecticut was spared the brunt of this heavy flooding – whew. Some of the photos in New York and New Jersey after the flash floods were amazing to see – subway platforms flooded. I’d be afraid of getting electrocuted.
Between droughts and floods there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of balance in the amount of water the weather gods give us these days. Sigh. I wonder what the birds make of all the havoc they witness. I guess, like us, they carry on as best they can. There hasn’t been much going on in the birdbath in recent days, at least not while I’m looking. It’s so hot and humid out there. But you and I are lucky that cardinals like to nest in low shrubs and forage for food on the ground where we can see them easily, but I’ve also seen them singing from higher branches on some trees. It’s no wonder 7 states have it for their state bird. 🙂
It seems there is a weather disaster happening every day anymore. We have two storms today, one to come late at night – after dark, the worst. I’m hoping it fizzles out as it’s been cloudy all day. The first storm has not hit here yet, but caused flash flooding in two of the counties in this area. Three inches of rain in minutes they said.
In monitoring for both storms while catching up here, I saw Alaska had a major earthquake that triggered a tsunami warning. The weather is on steroids anymore – nothing is a normal rainfall or thunderstorm, all amped up now.
My mom loved cardinals as I mentioned to you with regard to that ornament, but she had several cardinal small cardinal figurines around the house. They are such beautiful birds. I miss having the feeders and baths, but I have been enjoying seeing videos or photos of birds enjoying cooling off in this horrid heat wave.
The other day I saw a Carolina wren lying flat on the railing of the deck and thought it might be dead, but when I opened the sliding glass door it got up and flew away. Doing some research I learned that some birds, including cardinals, will sunbathe like that, letting the sunlight kill feather mites and other parasites. Then it’s easier to dislodge them when the birds do their pruning. So much to learn about our feathered friends!
That is really interesting – I didn’t know that. I have never seen a bird do that before but thank goodness it was alive and that totally makes sense to keep the feathers pristine, more than birds can do just by preening.
After I wrote the post about the turtles with the peeling shells which help the shells to stay algae/mold-free, I saw an article and took a screenshot about how turtles sunbathe on logs, not just to lounge on a log and feel the sun on their back, but to regulate their body temperature and let the sunlight rid their shell of mold that could damage the shell. I tucked that info away for next time I have some turtles sunning on a log in a post. I kept saying they were just glad to have emerged from the silt at the bottom of rivers, creeks or marshes, so that it felt good to sunbathe.
Very cute… I love watching fledglings learn about their world. Coincidentally, today I saw a male cardinal feeding a juvenile. 🙂
I love watching fledglings, too. I’ve seen male cardinals feeding females but I’d love to see one feeding a fledgling one day. 🙂
I’ve had a male cardinal on my antenna singing his heart out every morning for the last week or so. What a delightful sound, and his brilliant red color against a cool blue sky is breath-taking. Love that you’ve shown us what the babies look like — you can almost see their brains processing information about their new world!
Lucky you, Debbie! Don’t cardinals have the prettiest songs? And they aren’t afraid to be seen while they sing, the way some songbirds love hiding from view. The contrast between the red feathers and blue sky must be striking — I’m more used to seeing them with white snow or green leaves for a background. It is so much fun watching their young ones!
What a cutie! Ever since I changed to safflower seeds in my feeder to discourage squirrels, I’ve had lots of cardinals at it, male, female and some youngsters too.
Karma, I have to ask, do you get any flak from your neighbors for feeding birds during bear season? It was a big problem in Connecticut and it is frowned on around here. 🙁
I live on Main St. Although a bear was once spotted ambling down this street, I think most of the time it is a little too busy for bears. No one has said a word to me about it.
Ahhh, an advantage to living in town instead of here on the edge of the woods…