Early Northern Cardinal nest - Dundas

[David Moffatt]

I'll report this for BB Atlas separately,  but thought it might be of interest to many.  11 days ago (April 18),  after seeing a  couple of Northern Cardinals zipping in and out of a small sculpted blue spruce adjacent our deck for a couple of days,  I discovered the female incubating 3 eggs in a  nest just a meter off the ground. For the first two days, she was slightly flighty, leaving briefly when we passed within a meter and a half, but since, then she has become completely unphased, allowing me to look down on her from less than 2 feet away. Today (April 29), when I noticed she was off the nest to feed, I checked and found two new hatchlings. Counting back based on the average 12.8 day incubation period, that means the last egg would have been laid on April 16 or 17, and the first egg, by deduction,  on April 14th or 15th. According to Birds of the World, the earliest recorded laying date for Ontario is April 13, so if you feel that this spring is pushing some records you are not wrong.

This is an experienced older female (quite bright flight feathers and crest), who as far as we can tell is the same resident female who has been in our yard for a couple of years at least. Her mate is also likely a repeat breeder, and the pair raised three broods last summer. Interestingly,  all three broods stayed in the parental territory until at least midwinter. It was very interesting watching them progress through the stages of mask and bill-colour development and eventually moult so they became more or less indistinguishable (except, of course, by gender).

Dave Moffatt