I wrote a little verse on this topic last month. I was nearly certain at that time that my beloved kitty cats had dispatched a nest of baby cardinals that were in a hanging basket on my back porch. Now, sad to say, I have to forgive the cats. The real culprit has been discovered, and sadly before my next door neighbor killed it, it had eaten the NEW nest full of baby cardinals.
That poor cardinal pair has now lost two lots of babies in one season. I hope if they try again, they'll have better luck. Who killed the babies? A snake! I suppose I'm fairly lucky it didn't bite me, though it was not venomous. I'd lifted the hanging basket down to photograph the babies and when I discovered the nest empty I hung the basket up again. It was not until I looked again at the fern hanging there that I noticed what appeared to be a large snake coiled up in it.
Now my snake killing dog is killing the poor snake, over and over again, and she won't let me near enough to throw it over the fence. I know it's all part of the "circle of life", but I would SO like to see a nest full of little cardinals actually grow to adulthood!
That poor cardinal pair has now lost two lots of babies in one season. I hope if they try again, they'll have better luck. Who killed the babies? A snake! I suppose I'm fairly lucky it didn't bite me, though it was not venomous. I'd lifted the hanging basket down to photograph the babies and when I discovered the nest empty I hung the basket up again. It was not until I looked again at the fern hanging there that I noticed what appeared to be a large snake coiled up in it.
Now my snake killing dog is killing the poor snake, over and over again, and she won't let me near enough to throw it over the fence. I know it's all part of the "circle of life", but I would SO like to see a nest full of little cardinals actually grow to adulthood!