5 ways to attract northern cardinals to your garden

Before moving to our current location over 20 years ago, my bird feeders were visited by male and female cardinals on a regular basis. I always liked seeing the bright red of the males and the lovely brownish green cardinals savoring the sunflower seeds. In fact, I took it for granted that cardinals would live wherever I lived.

However, that was not the case. At least 2 years passed and I still had no cardinals visiting my bird feeders near our new home in the wooded hills. He had assumed that they would be automatically attracted just by providing sunflower seeds, but he was wrong!

After much research, I came up with a simple plan that would not fail to attract my beloved red birds.

1. Provide him with his favorite foods

two. Provide a clean water source throughout the year

3. Install plants that offer shelter from bad weather and good protection from predators.

Four. Give them a safe place to build their nest.

5. Create a small patch of coarse sand to provide sand.

1. Favorite foods of the northern cardinal:

Split corn

Black oil sunflower seed

Dried cherries

DRIED PUMPKIN SEEDS OR MELON SEEDS (a treat they can’t resist)

apple slices

Tallow

There is a special cardinal blend available that contains dried cherries, shredded corn, safflower seeds, and sunflower hearts. It is quite expensive so I like to buy the biggest bag I can and then add it to my sunflower seeds. Mix them together so they blend in. This will give your little birds special food treasures among your regular black oil sunflower seeds.

My method of drying seeds: Save the seeds of melons, squash and zucchini.

Place a sheet of waxed paper on a thick layer of newspaper. Then spread the seeds so they are separated from each other. Leave them untouched for several days until they are completely dry. Remove them from wax paper and store in sealed jars in the refrigerator. Add a handful at a time to your bird feeder seeds for a special treat.

Cardinals like to eat at dusk and dawn when other birds are done eating for the day or have not yet started. They prefer to dine alone without competing with other birds. So make sure there is enough food left in the feeders at the end of the day for your cardinals!

two. Provide a bird bath with a low voltage heater in winter. Make sure to keep drinking water clean and free of ice, as cardinals like to bathe to keep their feathers in good shape.

3. Protect cardinals by providing shelter:

Briars such as blackberries and / or raspberries

Trellis climbing roses, clematis and other dense climbing vines

Grape gazebo

Holly shrubs or trees

Northern cardinal eggs and chicks are preyed upon by many animals and birds, including hawks, owls, blue jays, thrushes, squirrels, snakes, and chipmunks.

They prefer dense, thorny bushes and shrubs in which to seek refuge from predators, who are much less likely to venture into a painful or nearly impenetrable tangle of vines and sharp thorns.

Four. Give cardinals a safe and secure habitat in which to build their nests.

Cardinals mate for life and often build 2 or more nests in a season. The same plants that are used to shelter from predators and bad weather will provide good protection for your eggs and chicks. The female cardinal is a skilled nest builder, probably because she does it so often!

She and her partner collect dead grass blades, small twigs, bits of vine and strips of bark from which she will form a loose cup-shaped nest in which she will lay her 3 or 4 blue-green and white eggs. Using its beak, it deftly smooths the nest material until it is flexible enough to form the desired shape with the beak and feet.

5. If you have space, add a small litter box from which cardinals can get the sand they need to help grind the seeds and grains they eat. This process occurs in their crop or throat and aids in their ability to break down and digest the food they eat.

Shortly after I started offering the dried cardinals and melon seed mix, I was thrilled to see my first bruises. I had also added trellis to the wild roses that grew on the west side of my garden; and started a little patch of heather in the backyard that is visited by many birds. Adding a bird bath with a heater ensures my cardinals and many other birds have essential fresh water year-round.

Now I am very happy to hear the joyous cries of the cardinals of “what joy, what joy” as they approach the bird feeders at the end of the day and early in the morning. In winter, especially when it is cold and sunny and there is a blanket of snow on the ground, they appear during the day. They love to drill through snow for fallen seeds and cracked corn. It’s a sight that makes the long winter so much easier to bear!