Late this afternoon I watched a male Northern Cardinal feed two youngsters in our back yard. Here he is with one of them:
And here’s a juvenile by itself:
The back yard is brimming with juvenile birds. The family of four Carolina Wrens still mob the mixed-nut feeder together. Over the last few days I’ve watched a male Downy Woodpecker feed a juvenile male and a juvenile female. Today I watched the juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker land on the cage I’ve put around the mixed-nut feeder, and fly away empty-beaked. I just put the cage up yesterday to thwart the Common Grackles. One of the two male Northern Cardinals has figured out how to shimmy inside. Also today I saw at least three juvenile Tufted Titmice, all clamoring for food–at least one parent obligingly brought them mixed nut bits and seeds. Finally, I’ve seen a male American Redstart over the past two days. It appears fond of the oleander. I can’t wait for the oleander to grow back–our yard will get a lot more traffic, especially migratory birds looking for a drink from the bubbler.