Feeder notes: the Northern Cardinal
Late this winter, cardinals finally discovered our feeders. Or we finally discovered them. It is difficult to say how long they have actually been coming, because they were very shy and secretive. They came at dusk, and fed primarily under the ground feeder. This seemed odd to me because cardinals have never been particularly shy at feeders we’ve had in the past. But we do have a lot of free roaming cats in the neighborhood, and have already lost at least one cowbird to them.
The Northern Cardinal was on the list of birds my eight year old daughter was hoping to attract when we began this project. She did the research to discover what they ate and how they preferred to be fed. Her research led to the purchase of the platform feeder you see in this picture, stocked with black-oil sunflower seeds. Naturally, she was quite excited that a northern cardinal finally began using it.
The female now remains in the bushes at the back of our property. We see the male fly back and forth between her and the feeders as he feeds her. I hope they bring their little ones to our feeders once they leave the nest!
You can find out a little more about cardinals at WhatBird, an online bird guide. You can even listen to a recording of its song.
birdwatching, birding, backyard birding, cardinal
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