Melanie, I hope you are able to get photos of the Limpkins! I used to see them behind our house in Daytona Beach and they are such neat birds!
Bird activity was practically zero around here for a long while but finally I'm seeing them visit the feeders again!
Regarding the Northern Cardinal nesting habits, from the Audubon page:
"Nest: Usually well hidden in dense shrubs, vines, or low trees, placed 3-10' above ground, sometimes higher. Nest (built by female) is open cup made of twigs, weeds, grass, bark strips, leaves, rootlets, lined with fine grass or hair."
And, from the Cornell site:
"Northern Cardinals nest in dense tangles of shrubs and vines."
And, from Wikipedia:
"Males sometimes bring nest material to the female, who does most of the building. She crushes twigs with her beak until they are pliable, then turns in the nest to bend the twigs around her body and push them into a cup shape with her feet. The cup has four layers: coarse twigs (and sometimes bits of trash) covered in a leafy mat, then lined with grapevine bark and finally grasses, stems, rootlets, and pine needles. The nest typically takes three to nine days to build; the finished product is 5.1–7.6 cm (2.0–3.0 in) tall, 10.1 cm (4.0 in) across, with an inner diameter of about 7.6 cm (3.0 in). Cardinals do not usually use their nests more than once. The female builds a cup nest in a well-concealed spot in dense shrub or a low tree 1–3 m (3.3–9.8 ft) off the ground. The nest is made of thin twigs, bark strips, and grasses, lined with grasses or other plant fibers.[19] Eggs are laid one to six days following the completion of the nest."
it's all luck ... I just point and shoot and what I get is what I get. 
That being said, regarding light and shadows; I do like how some of my photos come out compared to others!
Rabies jab?
