Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Baby Cardinals Up Close in Their Nest


The kitchen is closed today as I take time out to talk about gardening and all of the fun things associated with it. When we lived in Vicksburg, Mississippi in an house we remodeled on Confederate Avenue in the old military park, azaleas and camellias grew as high as trees in our yard and we were never sure when to prune them.


To complicate things, every year Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal built a nest in the azaleas right outside our dining room window and the last thing we wanted to do was to disturb their nest.

I thought you might enjoy seeing their nest and the babies up close. We made a photo album of this for our granddaughter and named it “Miss Birdie and Her Babies.”  These photos were taken a long time ago from inside our dining room window, looking out on the azaleas, on film, so bear with me.





Even Mr. Cardinal takes his turn feeding.


Here in the mountains where we spend our summers now we don’t have to worry about pruning azaleas because Bambi and his friends drop by and perform the task for free. But if you would like to know how and when to prune azaleas, my friend Larry at Big Dude’s Eclectic Ramblings has a very informative Gardening Series each Thursday that no serious gardener should miss. The other day he discussed when to prune azaleas. Larry, (smile), where were you when I had those overgrown azaleas and needed you?

I am linking this to Sidewalk Shoes' Garden Tuesday. Be sure to stop by and see all of the other interesting things going on in gardens around the world.


44 comments:

  1. Awwww, so cute! A pity we donh't have those pretty birds here...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Nice! Cardinals are our favorite. We had baby robins outside the kitchen sink window. Talk about a motivation to do the dishes! :-). Now the babes sleep there at night still even thou they long left the nest as flyers.

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  3. Red being my favorite color, Cardinals are a favorite bird to watch. Nice selection of photos, they look right at home.

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  4. Our deer decided to prune back our tomato plants this year. LOL. Well we just went to a road side stand. However there us hope yet. We have azaleas and they are so pretty in spring.

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  5. We have many cardinals in our yard, feeding them year-round. but I have never seen a nest! Wonderful photos which I am sure were enjoyed by your granddaughter. The parents do bring the young to the feeder to "show" them how to pluck the sunflower seeds.

    Bises,
    Genie

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  6. Sam: You certainly got the perfect snaps of the cardinal family--and on film!

    I grew up with Virginia azaleas--not so tall and rather compact. It was a surprise when my husband and I moved to Charleston, S.C. and found our new home with azaleas and camellias taller than we were. We had very young children at the time so gardening was limited and they all grew in beautifully wild profusion. I, singlehandedly, chopped down a rather large Palmetto palm tree because I didn't like it--BIG mistake in the neighborhood!

    Thanks for the memories.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  7. What a wonderful series of photos! The deer love to prune my plants too. Can't wait to check out your friend, Larry's blog!

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  8. Love this post. We don't have cardinals here in France so when my French family visits in NC, they adore seeing them.

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  9. Love this post. We don't have cardinals here in France so when my French family visits in NC, they adore seeing them.

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  10. Lovely birdies! Wish I had some in my yard :)

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  11. I love your pictures. I have a lot of Cardinals, Robins, Doves and Finches. I again this summer put out two Humminging Bird feeders and have yet to see one. I have noticed several nests....but they are to high for me to see what is in them. Enjoyed stopping here today......love the birdies:)

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  12. Fabulous photos, the cardinals are such a stunning colour. Diane

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  13. What a perfect way to start my morning Sam. There are no cardinals here in Western Canada but I remmber them coming to the bird feeder as a child when I lived in the East.

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  14. Good Morning Sam Sweetie...
    Oh my gosh what a wonderful share today. I so enjoyed seeing the nest with eggs, and then the babies. Loved seeing the Momma Cardinal and the Daddy feed the babies. I bet you all had a wonderful time watching them grow.

    Thank you for sharing with me this morning. I so enjoyed myself. Hope you have a glorious day sweetie. Many hugs and much love from Phoenix, Sherry

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  15. Wonderful photography, Meakin!! I have always wanted to see a cardinal baby. Thanks for sharing. My favorite bird, next to the chickadee.

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  16. Cardinals are so brilliant with their red. I always have problems trying to prune our bushes every spring due to multiple nests. Love, love that house!!!

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  17. How wonderful, Sam. That color red! He's beautiful. So sweet, all those little bird mouths. Great photos!
    (I hear my sister complain all the time about deer eating her shrubs in Northern Michigan.)

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  18. Cardinals and Azaleas-you're speaking my language, honey! You're pictures are beautiful.

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  19. Sam you have some beautiful photos here. Great close up shots of the cardnial family nest. I love the look of your house up there and how pretty with the azaleas.

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  20. Great set of photos, especially the one with the hatchling open mouthed, waiting for lunch. Fabulous excuse for not trimming the shrubs too, I'll have to keep that one in mind, ha!

    Our yard is full of cardinals and they are one of my favorite birds. The gorgeous red colors and their loud cries of "k-chew! k-chew!" in the morning always tell me it is summer time.

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  21. The pictures of the cardinals are gorgeous Sam. I've never seen their babies before. When I am in Knoxville, I see lots of cardinals, but so far, never a nest. Thank you for sharing your pics with us.

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  22. Cardinals are one of my favorite songbirds. Love the pictures! I hear the cardinals in the morning when I am getting ready for work and see them throughout the day. I am not sure where they nest. I would love to plant azaleas but my yard gets a lot of sun so I have to do a bit of research to see which of the deciduous azalea varieties do well in the sun.

    ~ Tracy

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  23. Those little baby carindals are precious and Mr. Cardinal is quite stunning!

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  24. Nice shots Sam. We had Wrens nesting in a birdhouse on our porch and I couldn't see nearly as much as you, but the little mouths were obvious when mom or dad showed up. Thanks for the mention about the gardening series.

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  25. Wow, great pictures! I enjoyed everyone of them...the little cardinals are so cute.
    Hope you are having a great week Sam :-)

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  26. Those are freaking fantastic Sam! I love it...I once took photos of feeding hummingbirds but not sure where they are...

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  27. Exceptional - and exceptionally charming - photos, Sam.

    Say, I'm reviving the Culinary Smackdown later this month and wanted to extend an invitation to you to join in the fun, if you'd like. All are welcome. Details up on my blog: http://eggplanttogo.blogspot.com/2011/07/4th-of-july-recap-and-culinary.html

    Take care,
    eggy

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  28. Oh, how cute. I've never seen baby cardinals! Are the eggs white?

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  29. Great pictures! I'm so glad to be back in a place where cardinals live. They are my most favorite birds.

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  30. wow love this post and cardinals are my favorite American bird thanks for sharing

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  31. Thanks for linking up! I love the film pictures!

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  32. Just beautiful! I have never seen a real live cardinal; thanks a million for sharing these great photos; loved it.
    Rita

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  33. best pictures ever.I just love birds and this is great!

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  34. Great photos! Aren't Cardinals just the best?!?! Can you believe we don't have them in Colorado ... you heard me right ... no Cardinals. :(

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  35. Sam, I just love these photos that you were so able to capture so close up to the babies without the mama or papa flying away! LIving amidst the beauty of nature is such a GIFT....and the Carolina's are blessed with the songs and beauty of red cardinals, mourning doves, and mockingbirds! So glad you shared this post to share with others to enjoy!

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  36. Did you wear a helmet when you took those photos? Gosh darn are they ever cute. We have a fair amount of cardinals - in the evergreens so I smiled through your post. Summer can be so very sweet.

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  37. Your photos are just great. Oh, to have a proper camera. Thank your for sharing.

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  38. I love your photos Sam. Cardinals are so fun to watch. This reminds me of a family of robins that would build their nest in my ferns every spring.

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  39. Thanks for sharing these photos and post! How precious.

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  40. What a wonderful gift for your granddaughter! Sam, the photos are lovely and especially the one that tugged at my heart-string, the little mouth wide opened. Hope your day is a beautiful one.

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  41. Beautiful pictures, how nice to have the nest right outside your front window. I've never thought about pruning as possibly taking away a bird's home, definitely sheds a different light on it;-)

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  42. I love those photos ... beautiful and touching.

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  43. absolutely beauty Sam, so cuute pictures and love thes nest!tahnks by sharing these beauties!! gloria

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  44. What a joy to look at these gorgeous picture of a Cardinal family! Their vintage look makes them even more charming. Lucky granddaughter! :-)

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