A couple evenings ago I was watching birds come and go as we were eating dinner. I noticed a flurry of activity, wings fluttering, branches of the crab apple tree bouncing around. It was happening right at the lower left corner of my view out the window.

I wasn’t sure what was happening. So I kept an eye on that spot and soon a male cardinal shot out of the tree. But the bouncing around continued.

It was a baby! I quickly googled whether cardinals had babies this late in the year. Guess what? It said they had between 3 and 4 broods a year, sometimes into mid-September.

Daddy was over at the flat feeder munching on a bunch of sunflower oil seeds. Pretty soon he zoomed back over to the crab apple tree and the youngster who had waited for his return. The flapping of wings resumed.

Daddy fed junior something (I’m guessing chewed up seed) and sat for a moment and then went back to the flat feeder for more.

Eventually daddy cardinal sat on a branch a bit away from the baby. He looked exhausted. He’s molting and he’s tired and it has been raining for days.

I hope mama cardinal is around somewhere to help so that daddy isn’t trying to do all the work alone. Of course for all I know mama is sitting somewhere else with junior #2, feeding and flying and resting and feeding….

I bet mom and dad are glad this is the last bunch of little ones to bring up! They’re probably just like human parents, glad when it’s time for the kids to get on the school bus.