I hear a Northern Cardinal commotion as I approach the butterfly garden. I see one of the females.
I stop to watch and listen.
Two couples earnestly chirp while flitting back and forth between the nearby tree and the garden. It's hard to keep track of their flurry.
And then I see the source of excitement.
Fledglings!
Papa Cardinal holds a seed as an enticement. Come, come little ones!
Perhaps the fennel fragrance is a beckon as well.
Mama joins in with the beckon from a higher perch.
It's like "Where's Waldo?" as the parents try to keep track of the bird hop-flying about with utter fascination about life on the ground. The thriving butterfly garden offers plenty of leaf cover protection.
One down. Now Mama looks up into the tree hoping the others will come.
And then hop-turns around to keep her eye on the fledgling already in the garden.
An adult male, perhaps Papa, flies to the rooftop looking for the next one to fly.
As much as I want to get a good photograph of the fledglings for you, I leave them to their rite of passage without added stress from my presence and ever-growing curiosity about the birds living in Wildewood Springs.
