Upgrade your landscaping to welcome these colorful songbirds year-round.
It’s always a thrill when wild birds visit your garden.
Cardinals are one of the easiest to recognize when you catch a glimpse of one perched outside your window.
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The males' bright red plumage makes them stand out wherever they go.
Both males and females sport jaunty top-hat-like crests andsing cheerful melodies.
Cardinals are at home in most rural and suburban areas across North America.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
They don’t migrate, so you’re free to expect to see them year-round.
Plant Cardinals' Favorite Trees and Shrubs
Cardinals are voracious seed eaters.
While they arefrequent feeder visitors, they gather most of their food from nature.
Credit: David Speer
Some of the cardinals' favorite trees include mulberry,serviceberry,flowering dogwood,crabapple, andspruce.
Shrubs at the top of their feeding list includestaghorn sumac, red-osier dogwood, gray dogwood, andviburnumspecies.
Add Layers to Your Landscape
Dense, twiggy shrubs often serve as nesting sites for cardinals.
Their four-layer nests consist of a twig frame covered by a leafy mat lined with bark and grasses.
These mini masterpieces take 3-9 days to build.
Variousshrubswill provide a good mix of materials the active birds need to construct a home.
Clusterseveral of these shrubstogether near the edges of your property to create an inviting habitat.
you’re able to double the benefit when choosing shrubs that are food sources for cardinals.
Include a Water Source
Like allbackyard songbirds, cardinals are attracted to water (preferably moving water).
The moving water will also discourage mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water.
Still, birdbaths should be cleaned and replenished with fresh water every few days anyway.
A simple bird bath heater will keep the water from freezing solid in cold winter areas.
Hang a Bird Feeder
When it comes to the jot down ofbird feeder, cardinals aren’t choosy.
A platform feeder makes way for easybird watchingwhile a tube feeder is easy to fill and clean.
Studies have found that cardinals are most attracted to black oil sunflower seeds.
Cardinals also like to eat hulledsunflower seeds, safflower, cracked corn, and peanut hearts.
And attempt to locate feeders away from shrubs and other vegetation where other predators could hide.
When chicks hatch, their parents mainly feed them soft caterpillars.
Think of these insect larvae as essential food for cardinal chicks and many other backyard birds.
While they typically forage solo or in pairs during the breeding season, winter brings the birds together.
Provide Perches
Male cardinals regularly sing from perches high in trees.
Choose trees with a columnar or narrow shape, such asarborvitae, for smaller landscapes.
Scientists believe her songs may share information with her mate about when to bring food to the nest.
