Tag Archives: cardinals
Warmer Days
Snow Birds
It snowed again, so the birds are all out trying to get as much food as they can before it gets any colder or snowier. It’s been cloudy & threatening to snow for several days, & the storm doesn’t appear to be over, although it’s not snowing now. The chickadees & cardinals gather around the feeder, along with the more common house sparrows.
Female Cardinals
Often when I look at my bird feeder there will be a female cardinal sitting at it. What’s interesting is that it’s almost always the females; I haven’t seen a male cardinal for a long time. They like to sit in the lilac bush too, singing. I don’t think they have a food source in the bush, but it’s thick branches provide shelter for not just the cardinals, but nearly every other bird species that visits my yard.
The birdbath
Cardinals have become much more common at my bird feeder. They love the warm weather & the sunflower seeds. They also enjoy the bird bath in my yard. (Actually, I find that the bird bath is becoming more popular than the feeder.) The sparrows, house finches, robins, & cardinals visit it frequently, & angrily peck at it when I forget to fill it. The only birds that almost never come to it are the common grackles. I’ve only seen a Blue jay once this season, which is odd; previous years they’ve been quite common. I know they’re around though, I’ve heard their noisy calling in the trees in my neighborhood. Blue jays aren’t the kindest birds, they’ve been known for killing the eggs, adults, & young of other bird species, particularly western bluebirds, & taking over their nests.
Cardinal Pair