Cardinals building nest in our yard

The cardinals are building a nest! Well that explains why the male cardinal was feeding the female cardinal as well as the baby the other night! This is called "mate feeding" and he will do this from courting through when she lays their eggs. And boy has he been singing. Happy little guy! Last spring we were able to watch the mockingbirds nest right here in our backyard. They had 4 eggs and all 4 babies survived. We just noticed a few days ago our cardinal couple had a baby with them (looks like a girl, still with black nose, and bigger eyes), and they were hanging out in our yard feeding and teaching the baby to eat insects. It appears, mama cardinal is primarily responsible for building the nest as she is going like crazy gathering the supplies. I do see what looks like the male helping too at times. They chose a very lush thick hibiscus tree right next to the hibiscus tree the mockingbirds built theirs in last year. It is funny because I just removed the mockers old nest because I know they don't use them twice, and it is prime property for a new nest. You cannot see the new nest from the outside, and it is nicely covered with queen palms over top. We are a vinyl fenced in yard which makes for a big playpen type area for the little ones when they first come out of the nest and cannot fly yet. I think it is a very safe location. The nest is on the far side of our pool, and in perfect view of our lanai, and windows of every room of our main living space so this should be exciting!

this is the female cardinal

This is the male cardinal

here is a good look at the dads mask -shot through glass window.

Baby wandering around - pic shot through glass window

baby getting an insect from dad - pic shot through glass window