Found a cardinal baby on the road  in front of my
house this morning when I was leaving for work.
Don't know if it was the first out of its nest; or the last one
left, etc.   It seemed to be getting its parents' full attention.
They kept landing beside it, appearing to give instructions
neither it nor I understood.   There was some
family resemblance in the face; but for the rest of it,
it was a round, brown bird with long springy legs and
not much in the way of wings or tail.  It was a good hopper,
though.  It sought shelter under the bumper of my car  for a
bit ("Oh, great. . . . ") before allowing itself to be herded
to the brushy, pocket-handerchief park that separates my street
from one intersecting it.

This was likely a bird from the nest hanging over the steps
going up to my yard.  Probably not the best place for a nest,
as all the babies will end up down the steps in the street.

Paul wrote me this afternoon, "At home, at 12, saw the cardinal family
across the street still.  The baby was on a branch about a foot
off the ground, being fed by its father."


Elise Kreiss
Baltimore City