Witnessing the Life of a Nest

The rate at which a bird's nest is built, eggs hatch, and baby birds develop and leave the nest is astonishing. Nothing short of a miracle. Take as look for yourself...

In June, I found this nest just outside my backdoor with five beautiful brown speckled eggs in it. Because I saw it each time I walked outside, I was able to witness the life of this Cardinal nest.

June 4, 2015

 If you've never been exposed to hatch-lings, it is hard to imagine how noisy they are. The moment I  stepped outside and heard all that squawking, I knew they were arriving. During their first night in the world, we had a strong storm and heavy rain. The shrub they were in blew back and forth like crazy. I went out the next morning expecting to find the babies tossed on the ground, but everyone was accounted for. Somehow these tiny little naked creatures, with mouths, survived the night.

June 15, 2015

The next picture was taken four days later. Look how much more space they took up. The nest is full. Their mother was diligent in delivering tasty treats, one right after the other, and she fussed at me, from a distance, every time I peeked at the babies.

June 19

This was on Sunday, by the next weekend they had all left the nest. When I realized they were leaving, two were already gone, one was sitting all wobbly in the shrub trying to keep its balance and one was left in the nest. I kept my distance so they wouldn't be frightened into leaving before they were ready.

Once they were all gone, one egg remained, unhatched.

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine