On Wednesday afternoon, between rain showers, the birds would come in droves to the bird feeders... I sat inside and took about 65 pictures... Usually I get about 10 that are good --but yesterday, almost all of them turned out good... SO--I will have lots of bird photos to publish in future posts.
Today I am featuring a very proud Daddy Cardinal and his two babies --who are learning to feed themselves. Above is the Proud Papa. He looks like alot of parents of babies.. I'm sure he is TIRED... And he is molting --so his red color is changing. Below are more pictures of the family.
Daddy Cardinal says to one of the babies: "Follow me, Honey!" (The babies are both as large as their Daddy. That's typical of many baby birds.)
"Aren't I just gorgeous???? BUT--what do I do now that I'm here?" (NOTE: Baby Cardinals don't have red beaks --like Mom and Dad do.)
Oops..... A loud Blue Jay flew down and 'spooked' Baby Cardinal....
Poor Daddy Cardinal is molting.... And have you noticed that he looks like he was wet from the rain--and that the babies are dry??? That is one good Daddy---keeping his babies dry when it rains...
NOW--look at Baby Cardinal.. When he wants Daddy to feed him, he cocks his head... See him???? Is that not sweet?
I got several good shots of Daddy feeding the babies... This one tickled me since it looks like Daddy is putting his beak WAY down into Baby's throat!!!!
This is the only 'almost' clear picture I got of both Baby Cardinals together. I love this picture since you can tell the differences in the two babies. The one on the left is a male. See the reddish color on his head.... The one on the right is a female. I love looking at the differences.
Hope you enjoyed seeing the Cardinal family. Mama Cardinal is never anywhere to be found when the babies are learning to eat. Teaching them to feed themselves is Daddy's job --and this Daddy is doing a good job, don't you think????
Have a wonderful weekend. I'll blog again on Monday!!!
Hugs,
75 comments:
Betsy, they are just so cute. Love seeing the babies with the adults. You captures some great shots. BTW, like me you are an early riser.
How wonderful to be able to just enjoy these moments! That is my goal, but I am a long way from it. Until then, I will live vicariously through you!
Tall Guy asked me last night if I could drive the truck for him and go around helping pick up round bales. Pray I don't drop any on the road and that I don't have to back up with the rack too many times! I may have to take my camera along for all the Kodak moments in store for me today! Have a good one!
Hi Betsy, Very sweet pictures of Papa and his babies. Glad you got the much needed rain!
Good morning Betsy -- Great pictures as always. It is amazing - sometimes, animals with wings and four legs do a better job at looking after their children than humans do!
Jane
I did not know that about the beaks, thanks!
Such a sweet little Cardinal family ~ and so beautiful! Nature ~ we can always learn something from them, can't we? Very precious.
Have a terrific weekend Betsy!
xo Catherine
Betsy, I do love these photos!!! Thanks for the info on the babies, I'm learning about birds from you!!!
Have a wonderful weekend!!!
Hi Betsy - Love your cardinal babies! Curious ... do you shoot on automatic mode - or are you trying some different settings? You have a canon don't you? Have you tried the AV mode - it stops the action a bit better and allows you to take a series of shots without the delay of the auto mode?
Don't mean to but my nose in - just wondering. I use the AV mode for my baseball shots and it takes care of a lot of the blur. Of course if the sky is dark - and I have to up the ISO - that slows down the shutter too.
I think it's neat to watch adult birds feed their little ones. You captured it well.
Great shots! It's so entertaining to watch them.
Wonderful pictures, Betsy. So much fun to watch.
Hope your weekend is delightful.
☼ Sunny
Fantastic photos!!!!!!!
We love the Cardinals around here, but I've never gotten pictures. You are amazing, because they are "flittery" birds. Love their flight... It is sooooooo graceful.
Hmmmmm, in the early Spring, we see what we thought were... Male feeding female. Thought I read that it is a courting ritual... Maybe? Love it though. :-) Have you seen or heard of this?
So, guess Daddy does a whole lot of feeding, hu? :-)
They are so cute.
I will now call you Dr. Doolittle since you can understand just what they are saying.
Have a great weekend Betsy...I hope it brings you all you want.
I love the redbird family Betsy. Wish I could see them in person. They are so fun and entertaining to watch.
Happy weekend!
I sure hope you do a photo book! I just love daddy and babies enjoying breakfast. Have a very blessed weekend!
Betsy, your photos are amazing and I love the way they tell a beautiful story about parenting.
be Well, be Happy and enjoy your weekend with your Sweetheart :)
I loved seeing the cardinal family...
Very educational...I learn so much from your blog!
Have a good weekend!
Great pictures and observations. I miss not having my bird feeders on my decks. While the squirrels and racoons aren't getting up my pole, it's not a convenient to watch all that is "going on" in the bird world.
All of our babies are grown and gone and with the mess in construction I had this summer they may never return. Nice photos.
Those are great pictures of the cardinals, the daddy and his babies. You mentioned in the comment you left on my blog that it is 64 degrees there this morning. I just checked the thermometer here. It is cool here, too -- 68 degrees. I'm off to open some windows and allow the cool air to come inside! Have a GREAT weekend, Betsy (and George too)!
Daddy is definitely doing a good job, he loves his family very much!
God sure knows His stuff!!! heheheee
He is indeed a good daddy. I esp. liked the pic where the baby is cocking his head at his dad.
Such cool pics ---your narration is super!
Have a great weekend.
Such fantastic photos!!
Great shots Betsy. Interesting that the mother isn't around and leaves that job to the father. Maybe she says "I've had enough, I'm going on vacation." Did you ever hear the saying "Raising kids is like being pecked to death by chickens"? I laughed so hard when I first read that - my kids didn't think it was so funny. Diane
Great pictures as always!
Have a great weekend...!!!
they are precious and looking alot like papa, just a little more time and color and they will be there. they look big to me for him to have to feed them. glad they are there and not here, we have an owl on night duty eating our beloved doves. every morning there are feathers all over the yard and in the pool. we wondered what was eating them after dark, and last night i got up for potty time and heard the ruckus in the back yard, with a lot of Owl HOOOOing going on. i know it is the food chain but the doves are so peaceful and sweet. why can't he eat the crows or jays or those big black loud mouth birds.
Betsy, they are simply precious! I can't get enough of watching the birds in the garden and their behavior... In fact this morning I noticed the Band-tailed pigeons were back after about a week of absence, roosting in the top of one of the distant Madrones; suddenly they flew away, all six, and were replaced by a Cooper's Hawk, much smaller than they. Fascinating to watch!
You and George have a wonderful weekend.
What a good daddy! I love the picture w the bird with his little head cocked. So adorable.
Great Pictures!
♥ Joy
How cool that you got so many great shots, I can't wait to see more!! My very favorite is the baby behind daddy tilting his head. To me, it is symbolic of following your father and turning to him with questions! Silly, I know, but that's the way I think, and I AM a birdwatcher...O.K., the picture is just darned cute as well!! The poor daddy is just a mess, and I've always thought it so funny that parents are usually thin and the babies are big and fat!
Ah....such cute baby cardinals! These are great shots. I love to see the parents feed them.
Fantastic Photos!! I wish we had a few more colorful birds around our area. It seem like all we have is an over abundance of noisy old crows. You want to make a trade?
Thanks for your recent comment on my blog. I think I'm already following your blog.
God bless you, ~Ron
Oh... very cute!! Wonderful pictures!
These birds are so pretty!! I'm so jealous!!
We are overrun with hummingbirds now. We can't walk outside without being buzzed by them and one clipped my ear yesterday!
Have a great weekend Betsy!!
Hi Betsy from Tennessee! Nice to meet you and thanks for stopping by my blog!
I sure do like what I see here - these cardinals are wonderful - great pictures! My kinfolk from way back are from Chattanooga, my oldest son lives in Nashville. I LOVE Tennessee - I could live there very easily! I envy your springs and autumns!
I'll follow along so I can get updates and come back to see all your wonderful photos and get to know you! Vickie
Pop does look haggared. Good thing he didn't look like that at the beginning of breeding season or he wouldn't have had any babies to feed. No self respecting female would have picked him for a mate.
The babies sure are cute and fluffy.
So beautiful!! I can't take good bird pics yet. The little finch feeder has attracted parents and their little ones and I've had first time ever chance to see them feed their little ones who are quite noisy and demanding!!!
What beautiful pictures--so detailed.
Happy Birthday, Betsy.
Beautiful pictures! You must have a terrific zoom lens. I'm working on that. I get some fine looking flower pics but my lens won't reach the birds.
Thank you for posting.
Kat. . .
He is a good father. Getting we to protect the babies against the rain...so sweet of him. Thanks for sharing a lot about the Cardinals. I never though that baby birds are bigger than the father.
Betsy these are wonderful!
I'd be so happy if these were my shots - you did very well. Love Daddy in his 'wetsuit'! :)
Great post! I enjoyed the pic and your descriptions too : )
I feel as if I'm sitting out with you. Could I have a little more iced tea please? Great photos--as always. You, Sandra and Ginny are my photography muses.
Best,
Bonnie
A lovely tribute to the Cardinal bird family. These are excellent shots as usual.I am sure they were happy for the rain. I wish we could get some. Betsy, I took that picture back in the fall of last year in East Texas. I take pictures all year long and store them for future use.
Hi Betsy,
You are just so cute. Always a pleasure to visit here and thanks for stopping by my place. I've been a very bad blog visitor so I apologize for not coming by often enough.
Love your cardinal story. We have loads of them here, too. They are lots of fun to watch at the feeders.
BTW... I am having a garden tour tomorrow with several bloggers coming to see the garden. How funny you said that today.
Have a fabulous weekend.
Meems
Oh you know I am so excited to see these pictures of the beautiful cardinals! I just absolutely love the picture with daddy in the foreground and baby behind him with his little heas cocked to the side!!! Wonderful photo!
I will be looking forward to some more bird pictures!
Have a fabulous day!
Hi Betsy! Thanks for the visit and encouragement! I love your sunset and cardinals! Our ironworks business features hand painted metal cardinals on much of our pieces... always a customer favorite.. but nothing like these adorable pictures.. so colorful.. I actually love the colors of the female best!
Blessings to you and thanks for sharing such beautiful photos ;)
Robin
You are so lucky to be able to catch all this...the right time and the right place! Great pictures!
wow Betsy... those photos are really gorgeous. Lucky you. I never get a great shot of birds. I love that flipping wings shot. great capture.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Fantastic pictures. I am always amused by these big babies still begging for food.I guess it is just what they were meant to do.
Hope your weekend will be super.
Blessings,Ruth
It's amazing to learn that the daddy cardinal is the one who feeds the babies. I did not know that. Of course there are many more things I don't know about the birds...but I'm learning! Thanks.
What a nice thing to do on a rainy day, birdwatching is so enjoyable to me. You are lucky you got to see these three.
I have so many cardinals at my feeders lately some days that is all I see out there.
My boys are 16 months apart also and my daughter came along 2 years after the youngest boy. We changed diapers for almost 5 years straight.We were only going to have 2 kids but I had to try for a girl.I've always been very glad I did because girls are so different from boys.
Have a blessed Saturday
Marilyn
Thank you for posting these wonderful pictures. I have never seen anything like them showing the Cardinal teaching the babies how to feed. Wonderful!
what handsome visitors you have. Mine are brown sparrows. When I was in Singapore, we had red woodpeckers and yellow orios.
I always love the birds at your blog. Cardinals are my fav! Thanks for stopping by. Hope your birthday trip was awesome! Yeah, you would think that my house would all be pink...NOT! I don't decorate in pink...I live in a houseful of guys...lol My craft studio is the place where you will find loads of pink, but not my other rooms. I do have rose dishes and such in my china cabinet, but not even my dining room is done in pink. lol I love to decorate in red, buttercream, sage, black...I am a pink freak as far as things in my craft studio and the way I dress. In that respect, oh yeah...I'm a pink person. :) Enjoy your weekend, my friend!
Hugs and Blessings,
Rebecca
Oh boy these are sweet!!! I can't believe the daddies do that! I did notice the little cocked head and was thinking it was so cute. Wonder if Mama was at the mall or what?
Great pictures, Betsy! I love the one with the baby cocking his head. So cute! I hope you have a nice weekend. :)
We love birds. (hubby called the Birdman.) Winter is when we see them up close and personal.
I love to see cardinals. They are beautiful. You got some excellent shots. Mildred told me about your blog.
Feed me till I want no more,lol.
Grand shots Betsy.
Betsy: Very cool.
this was so SWEET!!! LOVE those pics! How in the world did you get such good pictures? I am going to show them to my boys...they love watching the birds that visit our feeder...this post is a great science lesson! :)
Mama needs a rest after setting on the eggs....now is daddy's turn....great pictures. Trish
I sure did enjoy seeing these! I bet he is a proud papa!
AWWW what a good daddy. These are just great pictures. I love seeing them together. I have some doves in my yard that I have to shoo out of the way. They come right up to you. I don't know how they got so tame. Have a good week.
I think Cardinals are birds with an "attitude"
Just getting around reading blogs and posts. thanks for your comment on my blog re the military. love the photos. we have cardinals and they are so beautiful. hope it's a good Sunday. rose
This is a wonderful post! I love the cardinal "baby pictures". I certainly learned alot today from this post-thanks for sharing the info. The babies are just as cute as can be and what a great dad they have! Have a wonderful week!
The Cardinal Clan Chronicles in Tennessee has been a joy to read. The author, Betsy, gives rare insight into the family's daily activities. The photos are delightful and certainly enhance this delightful story. My favorite is the siblings with the patriarch! A must read for everyone! Hugs, Betsy! Have an awesome Sunday!
Hope they call next week for me to pick up my laptop.
Great pictures!
Thanks for sharing. We have a big red cardinal in the maple in our front yard, but I haven't seen any youngin's.
And, of course, I never have my camera when he's around!
I share your love of birds, the photos of the cardinals are great!
It's been so very hot this summer in Missouri, that I haven't seen as many birds in the back yard as usual. The cardinals are always a favorite in winter when the snow is on the ground. That brilliant red is so cheerful!
Am signing up to be a follower, I'll be back to see you! Cheryl
Ohh...so sweet...sweet..sweet..., Betsy!!
I really enjoyed all the photos.
Love to see how daddy cardinal treat his babies... but where's the mummy cardinal..what's she doing???
Thanks for your wonderful post!!
hugs and kisses to you!
nensa
Beautiful shots of birds. They are very colorful.
great cardinal pictures!!! i have thoroughly enjoyed watching mine too! i think 2 different broods have come through @ my house! def exciting!
looking forward to see what fall migration brings to my yard!!
have a great day!
Oh Betsy, the little ones are so cute. I didn't realize you could tell the sex of little cardinals. Maybe if we had them here I would have noticed.
Hope you had a great weekend. I am still having internet connection problems, our cable company has always been so good in the past so this is very unusual.
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