I don’t keep track of birds I’ve seen, where and when. No life list. Yesterday though, was the first time I’ve ever seen a fledgling Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). I won’t write it down. Just interesting to think of.

Cardinals generally lay their eggs late April to early May. Two to five eggs are laid, in a well hidden nest that the female has built, in dense shrubs, vines or low trees. The nest is composed of twigs, bark strips, leaves, grass and weeds, lined with fine grass or hair. The eggs will hatch after about 12 days of careful incubation by the female.

The baby Cardinals hatch with black legs and a black beak, a tiny poof of red feathers on their head. In 9 to 11 days after hatching, when they reach a point when they can fly, they will leave the nest. At the age of about 2 weeks they’ll learn to eat by themselves, but for another week or so their parents will still feed them. Approaching the age of 4 weeks the juvenile cardinals will have a bit of the coloring of soft brown or red plumage.

They’ll stay together as a family for about 2 months, while the young ones are learning to find food, and what predators are, and how to avoid them. After leaving their parents they’ll find other juvenile birds and flock with them. They’ll stay with the flock until they are ready to mate. At around 6 months they will reach their full size. By this time too their beak will have changed from black to the orange we’re familiar with.

It will take about 18 months for the young Cardinal to grow its full adult plumage. It’s a this point that all the adult feathers are in, with all the colors that we expect to see.

And then after all this growth and change I will see these beautiful birds with their lovely colors at my feeders.

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