As fall segues into winter one cannot help but miss the plaintive and beautiful flute song of the Wood Thrush. They're back home now and it is with some anticipation that I await them each spring. As I've moved into my new & last home (7 years ago), I have naturalized the yard, letting the oak leaves mulch my now extensive gardens. What I've found is that Thrushes will oftentimes use the property for a few days, and that is indeed a treat. While the Wood Thrush is a quite common woodland resident in our local woods, it's nice to see them on the property. What has been icing on the cake is that as the woodlands have progressed on my property I have also had the pleasure of hosting Swainson's Thursh and Grey Cheeked over the last few springs (the GC was here but for a couple of hours). On the downside, I had 3 Hermit Thrush window kills this fall. While that's disheartening, it's a pretty good indicator that the neighborhood is still getting plenty of birds (I'm but a mile from the beach). It's funny when I walk our neighborhood in May, and folks tell me they saw a cardinal or a bluejay. I smile. If they only knew of the beauty and magnificence of spring migration, maybe they wouldn't cut down the trees that many new homeowners seem hellbent on doing when they move into my neighborhood. It's like a compelling itch that they have to scratch. Well, off of my soapbox for now. I hate to have to tell all of you this, but their (Wood Thrush) numbers are falling and have been for the last 20 years (blame deerbrowse and the lack of an understory). Give thanks this week to our natural world. And help educate those who don't know..... All the best Ted

It's a baby cardinal! And it just finally left the artificial ficus while it's parents called to it from a nearby tree! It's little "mohawk" is in, and the colors are that of a baby cardinal and not a cowbird. It just was very reluctant to leave the nest. Yesterday, it began to crawl out further onto the branches of the ficus, chip-chipping and a parent would answer back. The parents have spent so much time with this particular fledgling...I have to wonder about the safety of the other two. They're still out there. The male comes flying out from under our window shrubs when blackbirds are in the front yard and issues his "alert." What a relief...but now, that little chipmunk from next door! I started tossing seed balls into their own shrubbery to keep the chipmunk away and am using live mealworms and safflower. Might have to take down the suet, since the cowheads/blackbirds seem to like it far too much and come into territory where the fledglings are hiding. I read they will fly within 20 days. It's now 14 days since I first noticed the birds were hatched. They could have hatched before I saw them. So when should they begin to fly? I know the parents do stay with them and "train" them.. But that chipmunk! Thank you all for responding to my "cardinal adventure." What a lovely song they sing. : ) ...And I just watched the little guy hop off with both parents very near. I don't hear them now. Just so they're all safe!

Female baby cardinals don't usually have the crest as fledglings. The males do. The females can easily be mistake for a sparrow as young fledglings (beak and feather pattern can help you tell difference) while the males begin to show orange and red hues pretty early. I've been feeding cardinal nestlings and parents for years now, they bring so much joy and will after time communicate with you. For example, mine are obsessed with blueberries. If I'm out of blueberries and don't put anything out, dad will pretty much "yell" at me now, or if I try to give them grapes or other berries instead he's even more annoyed LOL. And no, I'm not a crazy old bird lady. But birds understand more language than cats. My females are far more skittish, but my daddy cardinal has been with me 3 solid years now and will sit within a foot of me, let me move slowly, and allow me to talk to him. Mama, not so much. ;) As for size, cardinals fledge quite quickly (11 days, incubate for only 13), but remain fully dependent on parents for at least a full 20 days when their flying begins improving. They don't venture far from their parents for weeks afterwards. But by the time they're flying well, they're barely smaller than mom. You likely indeed saw mom feeding baby cardinal. A baby cowbird doesn't resemble a cardinal, though cardinal parents adopt, incubate, feed and fledge them as their own.

This was my first year to see a Hermit Thrush too. I wonder if they had a good nesting season, and maybe there are more of them around than usual? Anyway, congratulations. It is so cool to see a new bird for the first time.