Expert: Bluebird Bob Walshaw - 5/28/2008

Question
we have been enjoying a family of cardinals for several seasons now.  recently, we had two hatchlings (out of 3 eggs) in a bush up against the back of our house.  yesterday, i heard a bunch of chickadees making quite a ruckus and went out to see what they were doing.  they seemed to be attacking the cardinals nest, but upon closer inspection i saw a black rat snake eating one of the hatchlings.  my husband removed the snake, unfortunately it had already eaten the baby bird, and we placed the other baby back into the nest and left the family alone.  mother and father cardinal came back and later we noticed the hatchling still in the bush, but not in the nest.  it is at least a week old.  today the hatchling is in another nearby bush and the parents are feeding it.  i'm wondering if the baby will likely be okay without the shelter of the nest?  i believe they were getting ready to learn to fly and leave the nest anyways and the parents are quite attentive.  i realize there are no guarantees but would love any reassurance that it is at least possible.  we have no intention of anymore intervention, but we are awfully fond of our cardinal friends and would hate to see this tough little guy lost.  thanks in advance!

Answer
Young birds often leave nests early when there is a predator attack, and they are often safer out of the nest, and the parents will usually feed them.

It may seen hard hearted, but many birds including cardinals can raise several families a year, and if they all survived we would be up to our hips in birds. Predators usually get the slower and dumber and those where the parents have not been wise in theit nest location, and this helps to keep the species strong. It is part of nature's plan, and baby hawks, snakes, etc. have to eat too.

A good example of this happens here in Oklahoma with our whitetail deer herd. The hunters have replaced the wolf and mountain lion, and we harvest more than 100,000 a year and yet the herd is stronger than ever and still growing. The smarter ones elude the hunters or feed at night.