Attracting Northern Cardinals

Male Northern Cardinal

Perhaps the most beloved of backyard birds in North America, the Northern Cardinal is quite easy to attract to your feeding stations.

Their seed of choice is black oil sunflower seed, and they prefer feeding from either a platform, fly-thru or hopper-style feeder.  Cardinals are not comfortable feeding from the narrow perches of most mixed-seed tube feeders. However, some bird feeder manufacturers have started making more  "cardinal perches" for their tube feeders.  Click here for information on bird feeder styles.

If you experience troublesome squirrels in your neighborhood, you may want to substitute safflower seed for sunflower seed. Cardinals really enjoy this white seed, but the squirrels are not as fond of it.  In fact, I use just safflower seed in my open fly-thru feeder, and the cardinals flock to it all year long.

Other unwanted visitors to your feeders may include "non-native" House Sparrows and European Starlings.  Both of these birds arrive in large flocks and may discourage cardinals from approaching your feeders. I have managed to eliminate both of them from my yard by making sure I do not provide "cheap" bird seed that includes filler seed and cracked corn.  Using sunflower or safflower alone will help to eliminate these pests.

House Sparrow

European Starling

Also, don't forget to provide a fresh water source.  The beautiful male cardinal (above) is enjoying a drink at the heated bird bath that I provide throughout the winter months.

For more information on Northern Cardinals, check out Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Please visit my website for more information and/or to contact me regarding doing a backyard birding presentation for your group or business at Belinda Abendschein.