It has been a joy to watch fledglings mature to almost adulthood. This picture is a perfect example.  A juvenile, female red cardinal, I’ve watched her parents fly in and out of the feeders on an endless gravy train run of food to their chicks. Later the parents brought the young birds to the feeders where I would watch tender feedings from adults to fledglings.  Soon the parents made it clear it was time for the young ones to stand on their own and so they have.  This young female is poised on the brink of adulthood. Perhaps she’ll join a migration southward or maybe cardinals “tough it out” in the North Carolina winter. I haven’t been here long enough to know and, since I don’t plan to be here in the winter, I’ll probably never know.  We can’t know the minutiae of life’s cycle, only the broad strokes.  She is vibrant and ready to take on life.  Good luck to her. ☙