Janie, do you have cowbirds in your area? Some of their eggs are white and they are notorious for laying eggs in other bird's nests.
It's pretty cool that your cardinals built in the hanging basket! Ususally they prefer to nest away from people.
I'm jealous that you'll get to see the babies in the nest!
Patti

This same pair always nested in the Star Jasmine vine, but it got so rambunctious that DH cut it down last fall. We never thought about the Cardinals, so I am very happy that they moved into the hanging basket.

We do have cowbirds, in the pasture next door, as a matter of fact. I would have never thought of them. Should I remove that egg? Lady Cardinal has not started setting on the eggs yet.

Janie

I wish we had Cardinal's here. Animals are so smart.

Talk about a considerate husband, that's one devoted bird. I'll bet his mate is the cardinal equivalent of a super model and he's not taking any chances. The other male cardinals are probably peeved at him for raising the bar like that, though they would all do the same thing in a heartbeat if they thought they had a shot.

ThinMan

finished posting my comment and left the computer, when I looked out and saw a female cardinal in our bird bath splashing away. Not sure if she was super model caliber or not, but she looked like a hottie to me.

TM

WHAHAHAHahahahahahaha! Thinman, you bad!

I am going to buy a large supply of sunflower seeds and have them close to the nest, so he can crack them and feed her if she wants.

I think all birds are super model material. I saw a pair of super sleek doves today.....

Janie

Janie, I should have said to get rid of that white egg. Three babies is really all the cardinal "rents" can handle.

LOL ThinMan! I love the way you think. I suspect you are not far off the mark!

Edna, the range of the cardinals is increasing all the time. I did read of a sighting in southern California not long ago, so who knows, maybe they will visit your lovely garden one of these days!

Patti

I purchased a nice big bag of sunflower seeds today, to put out for my birds.

I took the white eggs out of the next. Unfortunately, by the time we did it, there is only one speckled egg and two very pale BLUE eggs. Two of the speckled eggs were gone, and we didn't find any sign of them. I am hoping Lady Cardinal will come back and lay some more. Do you think the blue eggs are from a Jay?

Janie

Janie you have quite the mystery going on there!

I think bluejay is a good guess for several reasons:
1. They aren't fussy about nesting sites, so they wouldn't object to a hanging basket.
2. They will use the nests of other birds
3. They will eat eggs of other birds
4. Their eggs are a shade of blue

The cardinal couple may build another nest nearby, especially if they discover you are providing one of their favorite foods (what type of feeder are you using? They prefer to eat on a flat surface like a tray (or the ground), not on the perch-style feeders). They have a couple broods a year I think. They love safflower seeds too, which are more $$$ but the squirrels hate them, so if squirrels are a problem, spending more on safflower seeds might make sense (unless you have chipmunks, who love safflower! LOL!)

There must be lots of egg ID sites out there, but I'm including a link to one I've used (I didn't see a bluejay egg at first glance, but it might be there someplace).

Patti

Here is a link that might be useful: Egg IDs