Not my photo.
For the second time this year the pair of cardinals living around my sister's place had built a nest and laid eggs. The first time things ended tragically (as I previously wrote about). First, one nestling either fell or was knocked out of the nest. Later there was a freak, cold snap where the temperature dropped to freezing for about two days which killed the remaining chick.
About a week or two ago I was at my sister's when I happily discovered the cardinals had built another nest in a tall bush at the back of the house. I was going to trim it back when I saw (and heard) at least two or three nestlings noisy chirping away. I was quite pleased they had given it another shot.
On Monday I was there again. Mom and dad cardinal were flying back and forth bringing lunch to the kids. It was a neat sight to see up close. I wanted to take a few shots, but had forgotten to bring my camera. No matter I thought... I'm going to be there again in a few days, I'll take some then.
A day or two ago my sister sent me an e-mail saying one of the chicks had fallen from the nest and died. She also saw a cat beneath the bush hanging about which she subsequently shooed away.
Well, today when I went by... nothing... Momma and poppa cardinal where nowhere to be seen and there were no chirping sounds coming from the nest. I don't know exactly what happened, but the news seems grim. Who said ever being a cardinal was easy?
No comments:
Post a Comment