On His Own

   Well, it was bound to happen and now it has.  It is time to buck up to the times and get on with life.  Well, at least, the little bird needs to go about his business of being a bird.  The little cardinal that was coming to the feeders with Mom and Dad Cardinal has now been officially booted from the nest.  He is on his own and will have to start "adulting" if he is going to make it.  Mom and Dad are not going to be there for handouts any longer.  The little fellow was taught where to find food and water and how to find shelter.  It is up to him.

  In the avian world, life can be tough on little ones.  Once the parent birds have taught their brood the basics of survival, they literally give them the boot.  In fact, this being a young male, he will most likely be chased from the territory eventually.  Right now, he is chased from the feeders if the adults wish to eat.  Life is not easy for fledglings that are accustomed to being fed or, at least, led to food.  Once parent birds are ready to nest again, the fledglings are out!

  This little one has learned its lessons well.  He comes to the birdseed and, more oft than not, feeds below the plants.  He knows that the local hawk could easily swoop down and grasp him.  Hopefully, that will not be the case and this little cutie can grow to be a handsome red fellow like his dad!  Good luck, Little One!

Father Knows Best

  I have taken the notion that physical therapy should be done outdoors when the weather permits.  Not only are you exercising those muscles but you are breathing fresh air and have the added bonus of watching the wildlife.  That said, I take my little weights out to the garden to indulge in the act of healing.  This is perhaps as "holistic" healing as it gets.  The body, mind, spirit and emotions can become in perfect balance within the confines of the Small Gardens.  I am a firm believer that it takes all of these to come together before true healing can be obtained.  Besides, I would much rather be outside even if it involves therapy.

  This morning before beginning the routine, I put out a bit of bird seed for my fine feathered friends.  It only took a few moments before a beautiful male cardinal alighted on the garden bench holding seed.  Ahh, my sweet friend has come to visit!  Then, another cardinal came to eat.  My first thought was that this was the male's ladylove but, on closer inspection, I realized that this was a juvenile bird.  Daddy Cardinal was teaching his offspring where to find food.  The brightly colored male did not feed the youngster but made a big fuss over picking seeds from the plank.  The youngster sat cheeping and fluttering its wings but to no avail.  Father knew best.  Let the youngster learn to eat by itself.  Finally. the little one gave up hope of being fed and started eating on its own.

  Seeing this interaction brought smiles.  Not only was the father bird teaching his offspring where to find food but he felt safe enough to bring his little one to the feeder.  From my vantage point of 6 feet away, I was delighted to view the birds and felt honored that I was trusted.  This, my friends, added to that emotional care...now if only the physical therapy was that easy.

  As a little note here, juvenile cardinals greatly resemble the females and it is somewhat difficult to distinguish which is which.  The easiest method is to check the bill.  A female has the bright red "cardinal" bill whereas a juvenile has a grayish or almost black bill.   

Little Lost Cardinal

  I have a habit of watching the critters of the Bayou and surrounding woods.  It is one of the most enjoyable things that I have found to do. Critters do not cause drama in my little world so most of them seem to be far better friends than most humans.  Still, occasionally, you have to ponder if there is any compassion in the critter world.  It seems that it is all about survival and those not fit enough to compete are simply lost in the shuffle.  That old survival of the fittest idiom is sure evident around here.

  For the past few days, a baby cardinal could be heard calling for its mom.  The little squirt lingered a little to close to the cat for comfort yesterday causing me a bit of angst.  Even though our old cat rarely catches anything lately, she might take a hankering for a baby bird if the situation arises.  I watched each day to be sure that the old cat merely snoozed and did not stalk the bird.  Each day, the bird was getting stronger and soon had all of its adult feathers making me believe that it might just survive. The little rascal found the bird feeders and the bird bath so at least it was able to eat and drink.  At night, it was smart enough to wriggle its way far into the rose brambles for a bit of protection.

  Meanwhile, Mom Cardinal decided it was time for another family. Her abandoning the little tyke was essential as she had already started laying another nestful of eggs.  This will be her fourth nesting of the season. The first clutch of eggs was eaten by crows leaving the cardinal without any little ones to raise.  She tried again and had the nest raided by the owl.  Then she had our little lost one but immediately started nesting again.  She is one busy little mama!  

 This morning, the little cardinal seemed almost sure of itself as it made its way to the feeders.  There, it mingled with the doves and blackbirds and got its tummy filled with fine seeds. It does still have a little trouble cracking the outer shell of the sunflower seeds but that will come with time and practice. Neither the mom nor dad showed up to help the tyke. This one is fully on its own now.