Sunday, July 5, 2009

cardinal nest

We were trimming hedges earlier this week and this is what we unearthed....we couldn't believe it and felt so bad that we exposed it. I had to get on the step ladder to take this picture. Its a cardinal nest with 5 eggs in it....aren't they wonderful. Mama was making all sorts of noise trying to get us away while we were cleaning up the branches.. Here she is that night......guarding her eggs. Unfortunately she did abandon the nest......we feel so bad but had no idea until after the hedge trimmer had made its mark. Last year they nested in our evergreen tree right above the deck. I hope they come back next year to nest. They eat over at the neighbors and they take a bath in my birdbath and this is the second year they have nested at our house. Next year.......we will watch their behavior a little close before we start trimming the hedges.
Talk about the ultimate recyclers......I have no idea where they got the plastic bag and paper.





6 comments:

June said...

Oh Denise, that is too bad, but they will be back. A couple of years ago, one of the robins in our yard nested very low and she got really tired of me mowing my lawn so close to her house and she abandoned her nest as well, so I know how you feel. I love bird watching, don't you? I feel like they are my very own little tenents. Sure wish they would pay their rent on time.
Smiles,
June

The Pink Rose Cottage said...

Beautiful pictures Denise! I'm sorry the mama abandoned the nest. Such a shame...Hopefully she'll be back next year.

Deb said...

Oh what a gorgeous nest and speckled eggs! Isn't it fascinating to see what goes into the nests. When we brushed our lab we would toss the hair into the garden at nesting time & it didn't take long to disappear :-)

Sweet Sage said...

What a beautiful find!

karlascottage.typepad.com said...

I just found a nest yesterday that was nicely lined with a plastic bag. Smart little weather proofers, huh?

Prairiedog said...

Just found your blog. Love bird watching. Our neighbors had a cardinal nest in their lilac tree, it had a dryer sheet in the nest, some nice aroma for the crib. Karen