Cardinal nest

Location, location, location: A pair of cardinals here made a clever choice. There's been a nest just outside the front windows - opposite the pair of rocking chairs that look out on the front - up in a holly tree. Just inches from the window, giving us a front-row view of the nesting female, and finally, the hatched little ones, and the parents feeding them. Local friends told me sadly that a black snake had gotten their cardinals' nest. What a great choice this holly tree is: a hard spot to fly into, discouraging predatory birds, not sturdy enough for the cat to navigate the branches, and too thick with small branches for a snake to slither up, I'd guess. I kept the cat in for many days to give them peace, put a bowl of water on the porch railing near the tree, a small feeder with sunflower seeds nearby in the yard. It's now an empty nest: another generation successfully launched.