How to Attract a Northern Cardinal to Your Yard

The feeder for the birds is more important than the food you offer. Cardinals can't cling due to their size and weight. They won't eat off a feeder that sways in the wind or anything that they have to balance on. They prefer eating from a low platform feeder or on the ground.

If using a platform feeder, it is nice to have a roof for seed protection against snow and rain.

Cardinals eat a diet of fruits, berries, seeds and insects. There are a lot of bird seed choices that they love. They especially enjoy sunflower seeds and safflower seeds.

The nest of northern cardinals is usually placed 1 to 15 feet above the ground in shrubs or bushes and is made of bark strips, twigs, roots, leaves and sometimes paper.

The nests are lined with grass, vines and feathers. Only the females builds nest while the males protect their territory. The eggs are white in color with heavy light brown to black speckles. Egg clutch is usually 2-5.

The male birds have bright, deep red plumage and black faces. The females are more subdued in color; colors range from light brown to dull red (or pale pink), with gray or brown feathers on wings and tail .

Cardinals are nonmigratory. They spend their whole lives within an approximately 10-square-mile area. If you do feed the cardinals, then you will likely be having the same visiting individuals.