cardinals - brood 4

Mama and Papa cardinal have had one brood of babies after another this season and I can't say for sure we are done either. Here is brood 4, a boy and a girl. The boy is on the left and girl on right. Here they are playing in the water dish having a grand ole time. You can tell they are babies because their coloring has not completely come in and their beaks are still black not orange. These pics are not the best because you can't get outside to take them. Cardinals are very secretive and they don't let you close. They fly as fast as lightening and usually very low to the ground, a few feet. They have very good hearing too and sometimes when I even lift a blind blade to stick my camera lens through it they fly off. They have to be this way because they are a good meal for the hawk stalking them. This series was taken through 2 layers of blurriness, a glass window, and then out through the lanai screen.  Sometimes you just have to take what you can get. They were so adorable. The girl had the best time, splashing like crazy. The boy has been the late bloomer. The little girl has been coming to the feeder herself  for a couple weeks. She has a longer leash with semi supervision. The boy not so much. You don't see him without one of his parents. I think he is protected more because of his coloring being red. He is easier to spot than the girl who is the perfect green that seems to blend into any surrounding.