Learning to Fly: Baby Cardinal Leaves the Nest!

Well, it was a very big day at our house, for we had some bird drama around dusk. The male cardinal and his new mate have built a nest in the big rhododendron bush outside our front windows. And on this day, the baby cardinal left the nest!

It was as though we knew something big was up. Earlier in the day, I was out hanging up clothes on the line, and I stopped on my way back in to try to get some pics of the baby or babies in the nest. All I got were a few blurry shots. No dice!

At day's end, I went out to get the clothes and brought them back inside. I had left my camera on the front porch so I could try again for some pics of the nest. I looked and looked but did not SEE anybody in there; snapped a few shots of the pink rhododendron blooms; went back inside.

Well, my husband, standing by the front picture windows, had the view of a lifetime. There, right in front of him, was the baby cardinal! It had climbed to the very top of the rhododendron bush, and was sitting there. He watched as the Papa Cardinal came and fed it.

Of course, in seconds, I had my camera in my hands, and I was taking pictures. But, cognizant of the window between me and it, and the challenge of super-zooming hand-held, I ran for my monopod, and started getting better shots.

The little bird mostly sat there, and it turned all around. Occasionally, it yawned, which was adorable. The Papa Cardinal landed on the bush behind/below the baby, and came up to feed it. The bushes were shaking beneath his steps. I was so excited! I was going to get some shots of him feeding the baby!

But then, 4 things, totally unexpected, happened at once: 1) my camera gave me a warning, INSUFFICIENT SPACE ON MEMORY CARD (oh, crap!), 2) the baby cardinal LEAPT, 3) there was a gentle thunk, as the baby bird fell against the side of the house and ended up on the ground, and 4) my husband screamed "THE BABY CARDINAL IS DOWN," and ran flying for the front door to help if he could!

Of course, I was suddenly ripping the monopod off my camera and grabbing for a new memory card, which I had tucked in my camera bag. I was initializing it, but of course, there weren't any more shots to be had. The baby was down on the ground now, and my husband was on the front porch watching over it.

The cardinal parents were also there, of course. We could hear their chirps of encouragement, as they followed the baby around. My husband expressed concern: the baby was out of the nest for the night. Wouldn't it be in jeopardy? Should we try to put it back in the nest, for its own safety?

But this was not my first baby bird rodeo; oh, no! When I was growing up at home, we often found baby birds in the yard. Putting them back in the nest, if you could find it, was wasted effort; they'd just pop right back out!

I did, however, run over to the Internet and looked it up, and there is a long period of time, after the cardinal babies leave the nest, that the parents take care of it, feeding it and making sure it is ok. I admit I learned a few things:

Did you know that you shouldn't offer food to a baby cardinal overnight? Typically, the parents do not feed the babies between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., when baby birds should be SLEEPING.

Male cardinals, famous for their gorgeous, bright red feathers, actually change color during the time they are caring for fledglings; their feathers turn a duller brownish color, so that they are less visible to predators.

Baby cardinals may stay on the ground, hopping around and learning to fly, for up to a week or two after they leave the nest. The sources I found online all agree: the best things you can do are to keep your pets, lawn mowers, and small children AWAY from them (cat people, KEEP YOUR KITTIES INSIDE), and to leave them alone. "Rescuing" baby fledglings can actually be detrimental to their learning and development.

Having said all of that, though, it is very, very hard to watch and keep hands off! My husband spent a rather miserable night, worried about the little bird, and of course, the first thing he did the next morning was to run outside and check on the cardinal situation.

As of now, the baby cardinal is fine. It is being watched over by SEVERAL adult cardinals, not just its parents. My husband says it seems like cardinals from the next yard have been called in to help surround and watch over our little one. 

We don't know how it will all turn out but we wish them well, and we promise to continue to watch over them all from the sidelines, and help out ONLY if we are needed. It takes a village, as we all know!

My soundtrack song is Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks, with Learning to Fly.

Bonus link: Facts and tips about northern cardinals.