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Our baby cardinals are growing rapidly...but back in April, they were very small. We heard them one day making quite a racket and they had fallen out of the nest. It really is best to leave them be unless they are headed for danger. We rescued them and put them next to the fence in our yard. (I would like to tell you that this is some old woman who just wandered by and asked to hold the baby bird but alas, it is yours truly and even Richard with his magnificent photography skills could not make me look any better!) This bird nestled quite comfortably inside my hand and I could feel its tiny heart beat.
Have you ever rescued a bird? Once again, I do know that it is best to leave the birds alone but if you know for certain they are headed for danger, I don't see why you can't help them. We have been rewarded by watching the baby cardinals grow up! They now have orange beaks (they are brownish at first) and the feathers are changing into the adult colors...bright red for male and reddish/ green color for females.
Do you ever notice what folks type in a search engine and end up on your blog? For the longest time, they would get to mine by typing in "Bird with bright orange beak"! HA! I am for the birds, I tell you!
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Awwww...so cute! I'm so glad to see that this has a happy ending. We rescued a baby robin once. It fell out of a nest on the side of our home and it was way too young to be on the ground. My husband put it back in its nest.
ReplyDeleteWe might have tried to put it in the nest but the nest was in a bush next to our house and it was way too high. I love robins too!
DeleteYes, there have been times I've rescued a bird..big and small. And, sadly, there have been times they've not survived and that has upset me. On the other hand, some, too, survived and that pleased me no end. :)
ReplyDeleteIf I see a creature that needs help, I will try my best to help them!
DeleteYes, I would have had to help the little baby get to a safe place, too. I actually had a bird fly into the glass door, once. She was stunned and sat on the floor a long time before being able to fly away. I was tempted to try to help, but I knew I could possibly make things worse, if I had picked her up. Eventually, she felt better and flew away.
ReplyDeleteSometimes birds will hit glass and be stunned. I have read it is best to leave them and they usually recover, but sometimes not, I have seen them die and it is very sad.
DeleteI've rescued birds, mice (brought in by my cat Mimi), a bat that had found its way into our bedroom in Sicily, a frog that had jumped into a plastic container Steve had been using to wash painbrushes in, and I bend down to pick up snails by their beautiful houses when I find them on the path, put them behind the little garden wall so that nobody will drive or walk over them.
ReplyDeleteSo glad the little Cardinals in your garden survived their adventure!
Yes, people put in the oddest things to land on our blogs, don't they! "Bird with bright orange bikini" would have been stranger :-D
Ha! That would be strange and funny!
DeleteThinking of rescue, C. And Richard did a rescue of a creature on Father's Day, I might do a post about it! :-)
My Mum rescued a bird when we were on holiday in Portugal and it's the only thing my daughter can remember about the holiday. Oh and the dessert trolley! X
ReplyDeleteThat's typical of kids, isn't it? The first time we took our son to London, we took him to many historical places but what does he remember? Playing tiddlywinks with this grandparents in the hotel room! AND the fish n chips!
DeleteWell of course, I believe it is your solemn duty to rescue all baby cardinals, and hand raise them too :) What a joy to hold that sweet baby in your hands.
ReplyDeleteyes, I have rescued baby birds fallen from their nests, feeding every few hours with a dropper, keeping them until they learn to fly and then letting them go. It is a lovely feeling.
Oh good, I was hoping that you would see this post and have your little cardinal self on here! :-)
DeleteIt was a joy to hold that baby bird in my hands and now my joy is complete when I see it healthy and growing up!
What a delight it must be seeing them grow up and knowing you helped !
ReplyDeleteYes, you have it just right...look at my reply above! :-)
DeleteI can't tell you how many times I've watched a male cardinal hand off a sun flower to his mate after visiting my feeder. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, in the Spring, the male will very often feed the female. Also, when the young birds are able to fly, the male will feed them also! We love to watch this!
DeleteSo glad these birds were rescued. When I was a little girl a man who was cleaning Virginia Creeper off our house pulled an entire nest with the vines and threw it in the rubbish. I told my mother and she put the nest in a window box under the window closest to where it had been and the parents returned and took care of them. And my mom really scolded the man who had done it. I wonder if he understood why. Love cardinals. We have them in many places in our yard.
ReplyDeleteI love this story, your Mom must have been a wonderful woman!
DeleteWe love all our birds but the cardinals look in at us through the sliding glass door if we don't put any seeds out, as if to say, "Well, come on, what are you waiting for?'
I've never rescued one, but I did have one build a nest in a flower pot on my porch. I got to watch them hatch and grow up. It was really nice. I was surprised that all my kids stayed calm and still and never approached the nest.
ReplyDeleteWe had a wren build a nest in a hanging basket on our porch. Richard just had to carefully water around the nest to keep the plant alive!
DeleteI rescued a a sort of gray colored bird. I'm not sure what it's called. It was in the carport flapping around on the ground. I think it must have crashed into a window.
ReplyDeleteI gently picked it up and carried it to a thick bush so it would be safely hidden until it felt better. It became stronger as I carried it, so it must have only been shocked and not actually injured.
I wonder what your bird could have been? Perhaps a mockingbird or a grey gnatcatcher? That is really what we did to our bird too, next to our fence right beside a thick bush, and the parents tended to it there.
DeleteLove watching birds and listening to them sing. Can't recall ever rescuing one.I have had them build nest in our scrubery,lay their eggs and watched them as they flew away.
ReplyDeleteBirds are wonderful, aren't they? In all the years of birdwatching, this is the first time I have ever needed to rescue one. :-)
DeleteThat has to be an unusual way for people to get to your blog. No idea how I first found it, but I am glad I did! Hope that the birds to really well!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Amy, you are so kind! Our birds are wild but we enjoy them very much.
DeleteLovely birds! Super colours.
ReplyDeleteAnd you should see this cardinal in the snow! That red against the white snow, makes you see why they like to put that on a Christmas card!
DeleteAt least the little ones had the opportunity to grow to be adults. I am amazed that the parents kept taking care of them after they fell from the nest.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how hard the birds work at raising their young, and the young birds will stay completely still which makes them almost invisible. It is very interesting to watch them.
DeleteWe have to rescue the baby birds or the cats will get them, especially Butch who lives two houses down. He's a great cat, wears a collar and stays on his side of the street, he will catch birds, though. When we get them, we take them to the wildlife rehab hospital where they raise them and rehabilitate them to live in the wild.
ReplyDeleteOh! You have reminded me, I need to do a post about AWARE, which is the animal rescue center here, it is at the base of Arabia Mountain. Look out for it in a future post! :-)
DeleteI've never rescued a bird but I have rescued mice at least. I distract my cats while my dad grabs the mouse and releases it outside. I have held birds though and they're so soft and light. It's an incredible feeling.
ReplyDeleteIt was incredible to hold that baby bird. Their bones are hollow, did you know? And the thought that such a tiny creature can take to the skies, just amazing.
DeleteOh, you know I LOVE this post, Kay! I haven't been blogging in AGES but my beloved Harry has only had boys the last 2 years. I find it odd but who am I to complain that I have tons of gorgeous RED cardinals all over the backyard??? I just hope they find some females to mate with! :-) XOXO, Audrey
ReplyDeleteMy Dad also has several male cardinals! I love it, he only calls them redbirds and I am thrilled I have gotten him into birdwatching! I just looked at your blog to see if you have written a post lately! Hope you are well!
Deletexxx
Lovely little birds and a delight to have them nearby.
ReplyDeleteWe have had birds come down for our seeds for years, but this year the cardinals had this nest in a bush right next to our house!
DeleteHa ha! I was shocked at one of the photos of me recently because I had the hands of an old crone! You were so lucky to be able to hold the little chick. Beautiful birds. X
ReplyDeleteIn my all years of enjoying birds, that is the first baby bird I have ever held in my hands.
DeleteI love that photo of the baby bird.
ReplyDeleteI know, it is so sweet, isn't it?
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