If you’ve spotted a bright red male cardinal feeding hatchlings in a nest or have baby cardinals in your backyard, you may be wondering – how long do baby cardinals stay in the nest before they fly away?
Cardinals are popular backyard birds that often use shrubs, dense vegetation, and tree branches to build their nests. Read on to find out everything you need to know about the cardinal fledgling timeline and key milestones in a baby cardinal’s development before taking their first flight.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: baby cardinals typically stay in the nest for 2-3 weeks before fledging or leaving the nest. It takes another 1-2 weeks caring for them outside the nest before they become fully independent.
Cardinal Nesting Habits and Egg Laying
When Do Cardinals Start Nesting?
Cardinals are early nesters, often beginning to build their nests in late winter or early spring. The exact timing can vary depending on the region, but generally cardinals will start nesting anytime between late February and early April.
There are a few factors that influence when cardinals begin nesting each year:
- Temperature – Warmer temperatures in late winter signal to cardinals it’s time to start nesting.
- Food availability – An abundance of food sources motivates cardinals to nest earlier.
- Mating season – Cardinals are motivated to build a nest when they acquire a mate, which typically happens in late winter.
- Age – Older, more experienced cardinals often nest earlier than younger birds.
The male cardinal initiates nesting by staking out a territory and defending it from other males. Once he attracts a mate, the pair will scout for potential nesting sites together. Ideal spots are well-concealed in dense vegetation at medium height.
According to the Audubon Society, cardinals prefer nesting in trees rather than shrubs, with forked branches that provide a foundation for their nests.
Cardinal Egg Laying and Incubation
Once their nest is built, the female cardinal lays eggs and incubates them. Cardinals are monogamous birds and both parents share parenting duties.
Here are some key facts about cardinal eggs and incubation:
- Clutch size: Cardinals lay between 2-5 eggs per clutch, with 3 being typical.
- Egg color: Cardinal eggs are light grayish white with brown speckles.
- Incubation period: Eggs hatch after 11-13 days of incubation by the mother.
- Broods per season: Cardinals can raise 2-3 broods per breeding season.
- Nestling period: Baby cardinals fledge the nest at 9-11 days old.
The female cardinal does the majority of incubating, only leaving the nest for quick breaks to eat and exercise. The male helps feed her during this time. Cardinals may abandon a nest if it becomes threatened by predators or human disturbance.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, only about 40% of cardinal nests successfully produce young.
With persistence through the breeding season, cardinals can successfully raise multiple broods. The mating pair splits duties feeding the hatchlings, allowing the female to get a head start on the next clutch.
Cardinals will continue nesting cycles until late summer when their food sources become more limited.
Newly Hatched Baby Cardinals in the Nest
Appearance and Size of Hatchlings
The newly hatched baby cardinals are almost featherless, only covered in pale grey down. Their eyes are closed at first, and they rely completely on their parents for food and warmth. Hatchlings weigh just 2-3 grams and are about 2 inches long.
Their skin is translucent pink, and their beaks are short and straight.
Within a few days, pinfeathers start to emerge through their downy coat. These pinfeathers will eventually unfurl into fledgling feathers. The hatchlings’ eyes open within a week, revealing dark gray irises.
As they grow, their beaks lengthen and begin to curve.At two weeks old, the nestlings have visibly grown, weighing 8-10 grams. Their bodies are fully covered in juvenile feathers. While their fledgling plumage is drab compared to the brilliant red of adult cardinals, their characteristic crests become visible.
The fledglings’ eyes transition from gray to a dark brown.
How Both Parents Feed Their Young
Cardinal parents share the responsibility of finding food and feeding their hatchlings. The male and female take turns brooding the young while the other parent leaves the nest to forage. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology(1), on average the parents make a remarkable 38 feeding trips per hour!
The adult cardinals mainly feed insects to their nestlings, including beetles, ants, caterpillars, spiders, and snails. As the hatchlings grow, they are given larger prey like grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids.
Cardinals have also been observed feeding tadpoles, small fish, and even baby turtles to their young!
In addition to animal protein, the parents supplement their nestlings’ diet with fruit like wild berries. Seeds and grains are also occasionally brought back to the nest. The male and female cardinals chew up the food into tiny morsels before feeding the hatchlings bill to bill.
By two weeks old, the nestlings are able to stretch their necks and reach up to take food from their parents’ beaks. At three weeks, the fledglings can flutter their wings and move around the nest. Once they fledge at about three weeks, the young cardinals will follow their parents around for another two weeks, begging for food while learning to forage on their own.
Baby Cardinal Growth Week by Week
Week 1 Developmental Milestones
In the first week after hatching, baby cardinals are completely helpless, relying entirely on their parents for warmth, protection, and food. Their eyes are closed, and they have no feathers, only a bit of natal down. At this stage, the nestlings weigh just a few grams.
The parents take turns brooding the chicks, keeping them warm under their bodies. They also work hard to find food, returning to the nest every few minutes to regurgitate partially digested insects and seeds into the gaping mouths of the hungry chicks.
Week 2 Developmental Milestones
In week two, baby cardinals open their eyes for the first time. Their vision is still cloudy and unfocused, but this milestone allows them to start observing their surroundings. Some sparse feather tracts begin growing, still covered by the natal down.
By now, the chicks’ appetites have increased substantially. The parents visit the nest up to 400 times per day to feed the demanding youngsters. In addition to insects, they are fed seeds and berries collected by the parents from nearby trees and shrubs.
The nestlings grow rapidly, often doubling their hatching weight by the end of week two.
Fledging and Leaving the Nest
Cardinal Fledgling Signs and Age
Cardinal fledglings typically leave the nest when they are around 9-11 days old. At this age, they will have grown most of their juvenile plumage and developed enough strength in their wings for short flights. Here are some signs that a cardinal is ready to fledge:
- Feathers are nearly fully grown, with some down still visible
- Able to stand, hop around the nest, and stretch wings
- Wings are fully developed and primary flight feathers have emerged
- Leans over nest edge and may take short test flights
- Parents nearby encouraging first flight
The exact fledging age can vary a bit depending on food availability, number of siblings, and other factors. But in most cases, cardinal chicks are ready to leave the nest about 9-11 days after hatching.
This is an exciting and dangerous time, as the clumsy fledglings make their first attempts at flying while navigating the big wide world outside the nest!
Fledgling Behavior and Care After Leaving Nest
Once they leave the nest, cardinal fledglings are still unable to fly long distances or with great skill. The first flights are often awkward and short, simply moving from branch to branch. The parents continue caring for and feeding the fledglings for 1-2 weeks after fledging while they improve their flying skills.
Fledgling behavior in those early days out of the nest includes:
- Fluttering wings and short, weak flights from tree to tree
- Loud cheeping and begging calls to parents for food
- Cowering low in vegetation when threatened
- Parents nearby keeping watch and bringing food
If you find a cardinal fledgling on the ground, don’t assume it needs rescuing. The parents are likely still caring for it. You can leave it alone or gently return it to a low bush or tree if endangered by pets, people, or traffic.
Only intervene if a fledgling is clearly injured or has been abandoned for over 24 hours.
Within a week or two, the cardinal fledgling will grow stronger, become a better flyer, and rely less on parental care. The young bird will learn to forage independently but still remain close to the adults.
By 3-4 weeks after leaving the nest, the juvenile is nearly fully independent and hard to distinguish from adults.
Final Stage as Juvenile Cardinals Before Independence
The last couple weeks in the nest are a pivotal transitional period for baby cardinals progressing into juveniles. As their feathers grow in more fully and their wings strengthen, the nestlings stand on the edge of independence.
Fledging from the Nest
Around days 10-15, the cardinal chicks will fledge, meaning they take their first flights out of the nest. The maiden voyage is rarely far, just to a nearby branch under the watchful eye of the parents.
Fledging cardinals appear gangly and awkward, still gaining balance and coordination. But their flying skills progress quickly with practice flights around the yard. Within a day or two the juveniles capably fly short distances from tree to tree.
Gaining Independence
During this stage the parents continue bringing food, but now meet the fledglings on branches rather than at the protected nest. The young birds beg loudly with their peeping calls whenever a parent approaches.
This fosters independence as the juveniles must perch, balance, and flutter their wings to claim their meals. The cardinal parents monitor their flight paths and landing skills, giving further flying lessons as needed.
In addition to flying practice, the fledglings wander further from the nest site. Their hops and short flights help strengthen muscles and improve control while exploring the neighborhood.
Self-feeding Skills
An important developmental milestone is learning to self-feed instead of relying fully on parental care. The male often guides this process by deliberately dropping seeds for the youngsters to pick up.
At first the juveniles fumble with the skill. But their beaks and neck muscles gradually coordinate to crack open seeds and capture insects on their own. Within a couple weeks, the nearly grown cardinals adeptly forage to meet most of their own dietary needs.
Independence by 3-4 Weeks Old
As their flight feathers fill out, coordination refines, and foraging improves, the juvenile cardinals no longer closely follow or beg from their parents by ages 3-4 weeks. The young birds confidently fly about on their own all day in search of food.
The parents closely observe as the final lessons are learned. But their duty is nearly complete. Within several more days, the fully capable juveniles leave their parents’ territory to make their way in the world alone.
Conclusion
In summary, baby cardinals follow a fairly consistent timeframe in their development from hatching to fledging the nest. While the exact dates may vary slightly based on your location and climate, you can generally expect cardinal eggs to hatch after 12-13 days of incubation, nestlings to fledge after 14-16 days, and young fledglings to become independent at around 4 weeks old.
Understanding the cardinal fledgling timeline helps bird lovers know what to expect and identify key milestones as you witness the remarkable growth of these backyard birds right outside your window. With good fortunes, you may spot juveniles from the season’s first brood helping feed the next generation in your yards.
