A Ball of Fluff

It happened! The cardinal chicks fledged! Sitting at my desk, I heard a small noise outside the sliding glass doors next to me. When I turned to check it out, there it was. A little gray head poked up, facing me, over the bottom of the door frame.

One very tiny, fluffy gray fledgling had descended from its curly willow nest hideaway to land on the concrete steps outside the door around 4 p.m. Confused, it tapped against the glass a couple of times, probably seeing a reflection.

Quickly I moved to sit just inside the door for a very short close-up look. On top of its little head were the beginnings of a reddish crest. Papa sat not far away, watching and, I’m sure, waiting for me to go away.

On the chance that the baby would still be there when I returned, I ran upstairs to get my camera. By the time I returned, the chick had hopped (or flown?) up the stairs to begin its travels to safety. But I was able to capture the fuzzy moment, even through the glass and screen door layers.

Odds are there were other fledglings, but I never saw them.