Cardinal babies and more

Friday, May 11

We had a good rain this morning, first one in a while, and I wondered how the baby cardinals would weather it but they appear fine, and I saw one make a very fine flight from the yaupon holly, swooping across the sand patch to the oaks. Both are now in the viburnum patch outside the kitchen window, along with a black-throated blue warbler (male) that I observed taking insects from a spiderweb. While the warbler was active, baby cardinals were totally quiet. When the warbler left, the babies made subdued tweet noises.

Thursday, May 10

Today Spence saw the cedar waxwings eating the fruit on what appears to be a strangler fig on Melbourne Court, across from the Introspection salon. We read that great crested flycatchers often incorporate shed snake skins in their nests and we think how cool it would be if the resident black racers, which we've seen a lot of recently, were able to contribute old skins to the nesting cause. Ovenbird under the yaupon holly. The house is pretty much surrounded by vegetation so the birds can safely circumnavigate the yard, finding plenty of food and places to hide.

Wednesday, May 9

In addition to watching the cardinals, today we saw great crested flycatchers (and heard their "wheep"). We saw one on the power line at the cabbage palm/fence border between our yard and Sawyers, about two weeks ago. Would be fantastic if they were nesting. We thought the catbirds, cedar waxwings and oven birds were all gone but we saw them all today, but in smaller numbers. No more groups of catbirds creating a chorus of squeeks and whistles and other funny noises. The cedar waxwings have eaten all the fruit from our yard that they want, I guess. I see them high in the air in smal flocks, going from the top of one tall oak to another, or one of the neighborhood's big pines.

Monday, May 7

We have heard baby birds for a about a week -- maybe a few days -- but today we got our first glimpse of two fuzzy cardinals, still with their gray beaks, being moved around the house by their parents, in flight training and still being fed pretty continuously by both parents. Cardinals appear to be exemplary parents.

This past winter and spring, we've had painted buntings, many many catbirds, cedar waxwings, all the various warblers, and regular ovenbird visits. We've had a rabbit again, perhaps not the same one, and seen the turtles enough to know they're still alive.