Reply
Thu 27 May, 2004 06:36 pm
I don't know much about birds, so any info would be appreciated. My husband and I found a cardinal's nest in a low bush by our front door. Two eggs hatched about 10 days ago and we had been watching the babies grow...their eyes were open and they seemed to have full wings yesterday. This morning the nest was empty and the branches around the nest were broken. We think a neighborhood cat was after the birds. We are very sad, but I'm still wondering if maybe they flew away? Is it possible that the birds got scared and tried to fly? It would have been their first time out of the nest.
Oh no not another one!
There have been a lot of these threads.
Maybe we should start some kind of support group.
(Been there myself.)
We tried putting some sharp plant cuttings around the bush early on to keep the cats away, but the nest was so low (only about four feet off the ground). I wonder if there was anything else we could have done to help protect the nest?
Outside of putting a fence around it, I can't see how there was anything you could do :-(
Yeah, Montana's right. This is the circle of life. The birds that are smart enough to put their nest out of harm's way make baby birds. The parents who lost their clutch will probably try again this year, they may also have learned a lesson about nest building, so may try to put it up in the eaves of the house or high up in a tree.
Watch for them.
Joe
I will definitely keep an eye out for more nests. Thank you all for the feedback.
Aww, that is sad. I love Cardinals. We get them here too, and I love their mating call.
If you're clever with tools, you might mount some nesting shelves on your house, 6-8 feet from the ground, behind the shrubbery--far enough behind that you aren't providing a ladder to the nest.
Birdhouses appeal to cavity nesting birds, but not all birds like to be enclosed.
'fraid not tbird, it takes about five to six weeks after the chicks hatch for them to fledge (try to fly). Cats don't play fair with birds in bushes. 
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace