"Little Joe" Flies Away Home~

I have been a nervous wreck!   It's been almost a month, since I discovered that a female Cardinal had decided to build her nest just to the left of our front door.  We have been tip-toeing in & out for weeks now.  Each time we would come or go, she left the nest.

June 6th~  Female on the nest~

 She was such a devoted mother.  It was very hot the day I managed to get her photo.  I'd snuck around from the backyard & used the zoom from out on the lawn.  We bought black sunflower seeds & put them in a clay drainage dish on the rail right under her nest.  Within a day - those seeds were being enjoyed!

June 10th - baby chicks!

About the time I thought that the eggs wouldn't hatch - they did!  It was about 15-days since I'd first discovered them.  Pretty much on schedule.  Everyone told me that the male helps with the feeding of the chicks & sure enough - he appeared out of nowhere!  We watched over the next few days as the parents would fly out, then return with a bug in their beaks & feed the chicks.  We both figured it would be at least a couple weeks - before the youngsters were big enough to try their wings.

The Male comes by~

 A crew of men had been working along the west side of the abandoned house to our east & cut away all the weed trees & shrubs yesterday.  When we got home, there was no activity at the nest.  I started worrying that maybe the parents had lost their home, been scared off & abandon the chicks.  I don't think I slept a wink last night - peeking out the door to see if the mother had returned.  She hadn't...

This morning, as we went to leave, I looked up to see this tiny little chick sitting on the edge of the nest looking right at me!  I couldn't believe it!  At lunch I was telling our friend Joe about the chicks & suddenly the name Little Joe popped into my mind.  The perfect name!

June 15th - Peeping Joe!

We came home after lunch - I couldn't see him on the nest & thought he might be asleep.  I decided to get a fluffy towel & put it under the nest - just in case one of the fledging's took a tumble.  I had the towel & walked past the living room windows on my way to the door - when I noticed this tiny little guy peeking in!

Little Joe is very friendly~

I grabbed the camera, carefully opened the door & walked out to get a photo.  He didn't seem to mind at all.  Butch checked the nest & it was empty!  We had to leave again & I expected that Little Joe would be long gone by the time we'd return...

Today - 4 p.m. still on the porch~

Wrong again!  He was still here!  He flew from the top of the rocker to the rail, back to the deck, then to the wire.  All the time stretching his wings & chirping.  I stayed in the house & watched out the storm door.  Soon, the female arrived.  She tried everything to convivence him that he needed to fly away with her...  No go...  He looked destressed, but he was Not leaving the safety of the porch.  Soon - a bright flash of red appeared.  The male!  He too, tried & tried - no luck...  He flew up into the lowest branch of the Walnut watching & chirping at Little Joe.  Butch finally walked up & shooed him with the brim of his baseball cap.  Little Joe did not care!  

Finally - there was a flutter of tiny wings!  We both thought he'd hit the ground & went around to check.  I didn't see him?  Then - I looked up & there he was! 

Success!  In the Walnut!

Little Joe had made the longest flight of his life & was in the Walnut!  I couldn't believe how tiny & helpless he looked up there!  Within seconds, he was hopping along the big branch, glanced over his shoulder at me & disappeared into the leaves.

Daddy is So Pleased!

Daddy had been sitting up a little higher, but soon came down & followed Little Joe off into the upper reaches of the tree.  I felt So Proud!  Our first bird grandkids have flown the nest & taken flight off into the big, wide, wonderful world!  What amazing parents these two cardinals were.  I'm sure they'd spent most of the afternoon keeping an eye on him.  Never giving up on their last fledging until he'd made that all important first flight & joined the rest of his family!  We feel blessed to have played a small part in the drama of this little families life~