Bob Farley/f8Photo

A female cardinal feeds her chicks in a nest built in an unused gas lamp in the backyard of a Roebuck Springs house on Birmingham’s east side. The chicks hatched about three days ago, a normal incubation period is 12 to 13 days, and if all goes well they will fledge the nest in the next week. The standard time from hatching to fledging is about 9 days or so.