Flying lessons

This Saturday evening I sat out on my back porch after planting some flowers. I had brought something out to read but got a show instead. A daddy cardinal -- the beautiful red bird -- was teaching his son (I think) to fly. The birds go from babies to flying in short order, and the parents had built a nest in a large bush next to my backdoor for the second year.
The first year had disastrous results while the babies were learning to fly due to my stupidity and one of my dogs. Without going into details, I did not realize the babies were out and about and ready to fly. It upset me tremendously, and I was determined this would not happen again. This year, I've kept a vigilant watch over my backyard and a careful eye on one of my dogs, who likes to play too much. Saturday night I had to put her back inside. I was determined to make this outcome different and was rewarded when I realized the babies were flying.
I saw the cardinal flying around my backyard and using my binoculars was able to determine that it was one of the babies. He looked to be a male, even though his feathers were still brown, but he had a red crest on his head. I just can't believe how fast they grow within about a week's time, it seems like. It's probably longer, but the time sure does go by fast. This year, I never actually saw the babies in the nest, just heard their plaintiff peeps for food.
Anyway, the daddy was flying around, I presume, to supervise his youngster in the proper flying techniques. The younger bird flew down into the yard, up onto several branches of nearby tree and on the top of the wooden fence. Because of his landing sites, I was able to get several good looks at him. And by all observations, he's well on his way to being an ace flier. I just hope he'll continue to make my backyard his home, and I'll continue to keep an eye on Nikki.