Cardinals still eating at dawn
When I sat down at my desk this morning at 6:30AM, and looked out the window at the feeders, there was a male Northern Cardinal on the ground foraging under the platform feeder. Its mate and one of their juveniles were on that feeder. She was feeding the juvenile. In my opinion, mid-October is late for a parent to be still feeding a juvenile. My guess is this pair of cardinals had two nests this year and this juvenile is from the second nest.
If you have been watching this cam, you will have seen these three birds from time to time at dawn over the last few weeks. They also come just before it is completely dark in the evening. I think this juvenile is a male as he is already showing more red than the female who is with him. If you get to see this interaction between female and juvenile over the next few days, notice how gentle she is with him. They both tilt their heads – in opposite directions – and she lays the seed in the juvenile’s open mouth.
We really know so little about the emotions of animals. Those of you who have dogs and cats as part of your family most certainly have much to say about this. I have had dogs who pouted, grinned, manipulated me, and loved me every 
single moment of their lives. This gesture between mother and son on the platform feeder seemed to be filled with love.
This photo of a male feeding a juvenile was taken by our good friend Jim Oettel who lives about 30 miles north of us here in central Illinois. We human beings are not the only species whose urge to ‘parent’ is strong.