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| 24 June 2013 The only hint of a Cardinal is the beak - these guys are filling the nest now - not long after this photo (the following day) they were gone - no sign of a disturbance, just gone - hope they just flew away like young birds do
Northern cardinals breed between
March and September. They usually raise two broods a year, one beginning around
March and the second in late May to July. The second nest is often parasitized
by brown-headed cowbirds. Nests are built by the female in dense tangles of
vines or twigs in shrubs and small trees. The female lays 1 to 5 (usually 3)
white to greenish eggs that average about one inch in length and one-half inch
in diameter. Incubation begins when the last egg is laid, and is performed
solely by the female. The male brings food to the incubating female. The eggs
hatch after 11 to 13 days of incubation. The female broods the chicks for the
first 2 days. Both parents feed the chicks a diet of insects. Both parents also
remove fecal sacs from the nest. The chicks begin leaving the nest 7 to 13
(usually 9 to 10) days after hatching. The parents continue to feed the chicks
for 25 to 56 days after they fledge from the nest. After leaving or being
driven out of their parents' territory, young birds often join flocks of other
juveniles. They may begin breeding the next spring. re/
Halkin and Linville, 1999
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cardinalis_cardinalis.html
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awwwwwwwwwwdorable!!
ReplyDeleteI hope they survived - I added the time periods for hatching and leaving the nest and I think they were within the range to have done so - I don't look at your postings enough - every time I do your photography just makes me envious (the good kind of envy) of you - getting closer to Grand River Falls time for the McKinneys, Himself!!
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