Depressing -- our cardinals just lost another nestling. Why?

[theHandpuppet]

What is with this pair, anyway? Momma is now sitting a THIRD clutch of eggs after having lost the young from her first broods. The young are leaving the nest too early to fend for themselves! And I'm not talking wee chicks that are getting pushed from the nest, but nearly grown youngsters who simply can't fly well enough to escape the neighborhood pets (and jays). I was horrified to see the latest one leave the nest before it could really fly and the next day one of my Scotties presented me with the poor thing's dead body.

I love birds of all kinds and have many, many breeding pairs about my house but have never seen a pair that was having such a hard time successfully raising chicks. What gives?

[semillama]

1. Is there a lack of brushy cover in your neighborhood?

Perhaps there is insufficient cover for the fledglings to take advantage of. It's possible this is the first attempt at breeding by this pair and they don't recognize yet that they are in a poor location for brood success. I know the places I've seen Cardinal fledglings have had plenty of dense cover for them.

[theHandpuppet]

2. There's plenty of brush cover but they are a young pair

And yes, I think this is their first breeding season. I sure hope they get the hang of this soon. Seeing these dead fledglings is really depressing, especially when they were sooooo close to being able to fend for themselves.