If you are following my blogs since I started, you know I have an obsession with the Northern Cardinal. I did one of my first posts about the Northern Cardinal, among other favorite birds in the neighborhood. [October 1, 2015 (on the separate page - NATURE - AT HOME)]
I progressed from sighting just a pair separately, then together, and then a male singing! [October 29, 2015 (on the separate page - NATURE - AT HOME) and February 4, 2016 - Urban Flight amidst Urban Blight]
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Northern Cardinal, male / street outside my house / September 2015 |
This week’s blog is dedicated to my mother because as I was writing this I realized my mother was probably the first to point out the Northern Cardinal to me when I was growing up on Kauai. I can even remember my childhood name for it - “cardimull.” Also, I probably get my fascination with birds from my mother, as she was always “watching out for nature,” but especially birds!
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| Northern Cardinal, male / on a neighbor’s fence / March 2016 |
Maybe I also love the Northern Cardinal because I know it is mainly from the East Coast or at least from locations with snow! My mother was from the East Coast and it probably reminded her of home. How did these birds get all the way to Hawai’i?
The Northern Cardinal is also a bird associated with Christmas, which I love!
Earlier this month, in the low trees behind my house, I started to hear desperate, loud continuous peeping accompanied by the sharp chirps of the adults. I kept looking outside to see if this was baby Northern Cardinals as I imagined. Finally after about a week of hearing the continuous peeps, I heard the peeps in the trees in my yard!
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| Northern Cardinal, baby / in my yard / May 9, 2016 |
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| Northern Cardinal, male / down my street / April 2016 |
I believe this is a second generation of Northern Cardinals. I am confident that the breeding pair that I saw in October produced one male offspring, because after a number of months, I saw three Northern Cardinals flying across the neighbor’s yard. My theory was that the male offspring stayed and the “parents” moved to a different location.
For many months after sighting the three Cardinals, I heard a male cardinal gallantly singing from every high vantage point. I felt so sad because the trilling songs began to sound so desperate as the months progressed. Finally, I saw a female!
Northern Cardinal, male (video, no sound) / in my yard / January 2016
Later on the day I saw the first baby, as I followed another round of peeping and loud chirps to my neighbor’s yard, I was able to see the male feeding a baby! The last photo seems to show the male looking out for something.
2 photos - Northern Cardinal, male and young / neighbor’s yard / May 9, 2016
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The next day, I saw the female cardinal in the same spot and as I investigated further, I saw TWO baby Northern Cardinals in the trees behind her!
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Northern Cardinal, female / neighbor’s yard / May 10, 2016
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The babies were always slow to fly away but their parents were difficult to “catch” in one place. Interestingly enough I saw the male doing more of the feeding unless he had the “afternoon shift” and I was more likely to take photos in the afternoon.
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| Northern Cardinal, two babies / neighbor’s yard / May 10, 2016 |
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| Northern Cardinal, one baby left alone / neighbor’s yard / May 10, 2016 |
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| Northern Cardinal, one baby left alone / neighbor’s yard / May 10, 2016 |
Day after day, as I followed the sounds of the family, I was able to get different photos of the Northern Cardinal family. Some are difficult to see as the family did a fairly good job of hiding in the trees.
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| Northern Cardinal, male leaving two babies / neighbor’s yard / May 11, 2016 |
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| Northern Cardinal, female & one baby / neighbor’s yard / May 11, 2016 |
The adults seemed to fly ahead of the babies, guiding them around with their calls. The babies seemed to insistently peep to each other. Recently there was some tree trimming done behind our house so the Northern Cardinal family enjoyed the “flyway” hidden by larger bushes but it was cleared enough that I could get some good photos. My goal was always to get the whole family together but I was not successful.
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| Northern Cardinal, male & one baby / behind our house / May 11, 2016 |
As the days progressed the offsprings’ flights were longer and higher. Sometimes all I heard were the offspring peeping as if the parents had left to get them used to being alone. I am already saddened when I think of what comes next in this process but that is all part of the process and cycles of nature.
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| Northern Cardinal, one juvenile / in our yard / May 14, 2016 |
Notice as the days pass how quickly the fluffiness of the offspring change!
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| Northern Cardinal, parents / in our yard / May 14, 2016 |
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| Male & two offspring / in our yard / May 14, 2016 |
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| Northern Cardinal, two juveniles / neighbor’s yard / May 17, 2016 |
In these latest photos, this juvenile looks like it is definitely a male.
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| Northern Cardinal, one juvenile / neighbor’s yard / May 18, 2016 |
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| Northern Cardinal, one juvenile / neighbor’s yard / May 18, 2016 |
As a wonderful aside, while hunting for Northern Cardinal family, I was easily able to get shots of another set of twin Cardinals. These Red-Crested Cardinals are not as shy as Northern Cardinals!
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| Red-crested Cardinal, parent & two offspring / neighbor’s yard / May 17, 2016 |
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| Red-crested Cardinal, one hungry offspring / neighbor’s yard / May 17, 2016 |
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| Red-crested Cardinal, one hungry offspring / neighbor’s yard / May 17, 2016 |
About a month ago, I noticed a pair of Red-Crested Cardinals. Identification of cardinals In an earlier blog, I hypothesized how these Cardinals, originally from Brazil, did not venture all the way up to cooler Aiea Heights and perhaps preferred a drier climate. [February 4, 2016 - Urban Flight amidst Urban Blight]
But now these Red-Crested Cardinals, new to our neighborhood, have adapted very well and the pair were taking care of their babies on a close tree! I heard babies peeping and thought the chirps and peeps sounded different.
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| Red-crested Cardinal, parent feeding offspring / neighbor’s yard / May 17, 2016 |
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| Red-crested Cardinal, parent feeding offspring / neighbor’s yard / May 17, 2016 |
These Red-Crested Cardinals do not show distinct sexual dimorphism (different looks for each sex). I wonder why that is? I cannot tell which is which, as both male and females are brightly colored and striking.
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| Red-crested Cardinal, parent & two offspring / neighbor’s yard / May 17, 2016 |
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| Red-crested Cardinal, parent & two offspring / neighbor’s yard / May 17, 2016 |
The babies are the ones which are dull in color. Don’t you love how big the baby birds are when they still insist on being fed by their parents? What parent can deny the cries?
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| Red-crested Cardinal, male (?) parent & offspring / neighbor’s yard / May 17, 2016 |
The thrill of being able to capture, in photos, the growth of twin baby Cardinals, from both species, has certainly kept me happy throughout the month of May - the wonders of spring! It is wonderful that I can always see something new in nature. I hope you can do the same as you “watch out for nature!”
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