Story of a bird

A few weeks ago we discovered a mother cardinal had laid eggs in one of our rose bushes. This rose is right next to our back porch, literally touching the screening, so you can imagine what an awesome view we had of the little cardinal abode! We all relished checking in on her and the eggs (no doubt to her dismay) to see if any had hatched. Rose even spoke in a hushed voice when going on the back porch: "I see the birdie! Quiet!"

Well, a few mornings ago I came out onto the porch to find the nest tipped on its side and empty. Rose stems were bent in half. Little feathers were scattered here and there. What a tragedy! I went out and inspected the area around the bush, only to find the three eggs scattered around its base. With the mother out of sight, I figured she had met her end. I took the eggs, put them back in their nest and brought them inside. What to do with them? Were they dead? Possibly: online, I found that eggs die very quickly if they're not kept at 100 degrees. Who knew how long they had been without their mama?

The poor eggs.

Then, I heard her. Her chirp is quite notable to our ear since she's been around so long. I rushed outside to find her inspecting the empty rosebush! I quickly put the reassembled nest back in its place and hoped she'd come back. She did!

Baby cardinal, hatched the day after the nest was restored.

Daddy cardinal feeding Mama, who feeds the baby.

My own little birdie, tormenting Mama sitting on the nest a few feet away.

Mama sitting on baby (who doesn't mind?)


The happy ending isn't without some sorrow: two of the eggs remain unhatched. They must have gotten too cold when the nest was tipped. My theory is a squirrel was trying to get to the bird-feeder, and climbed the rose bush, tipping over the nest and breaking branches. Needless to say we didn't refill the bird feeder.

What a beautiful little miracle to have observed as a family!