Northern Cardinal

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Introduction

For this week’s post I wanted write about a common and beautiful visitor to my backyard the northern cardinal. 
                                                                                                                          Photo Credit Matt Bell 2017

  Northern Cardinals in my Backyard

The northern cardinal is a very common visitor to my yard. I observe this bird during every season, with almost daily sightings during the fall and winter months. Most of the sightings occur in the small forest in my front yard. During the fall I often see cardinals eating berries off the Amur honeysuckle. During winter months I often observe cardinals sitting on the leafless branches of the winter forest or eating from my bird feeder. One of my favorite sights of winter is male cardinals sitting on a branch in a snow covered forest.
             A few weeks ago I had a very interesting event occur with two male northern cardinals. I was sitting in my room when I heard a loud thump come from my bay window. This sound was soon followed by another loud thump. When I went to investigate, I saw two male cardinals standing on my sidewalk. Both birds had struck my bay window and were barely conscious. I quickly got my spare birdcage and place a clean towel at the bottom of the cage. I went outside and picked up both birds. The cardinals were so “out of it”, they did not struggle a bit which also met they would be easy prey for a wondering cat. I placed both birds in the cage and let them recover. It was about half an hour before one of the birds started chirping and moving around the cage. It took about two hours before the other bird recovered. It was a great feeling to see both birds recovered and fly off into the wild. 
                                                                Photo Credit Matt Bell 2017

  Northern Cardinal Facts

The male cardinal is probably one of the easiest birds to recognizable in Pennsylvania. The male cardinal’s head crest, bright red coloring, and black coloring around the faces makes him standout from other Pennsylvania birds. The female is not as colorful as the male cardinal. Her color patterns are an olive brown with little bits of red running through it.
  • ·         On average male and female cardinals are between 7 and 9 inches with wingspans between 9 and 12 inches long. The average weigh of both sexes is between 1.4 and 1.8 ounces.
  • ·         The cardinal got its name because the red coloring of the male cardinal looks like the red vestments the Catholic cardinals wear.  
  • ·         When male cardinals are born they have the coloring of female cardinals.
  • ·         The female cardinal is one of the few female North American songbirds that sings. The reason for her song is to inform the male cardinal to bring her food while she is sitting on the nest.
  • ·         The northern cardinal is the state bird of more states than any other bird. These states include: Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Illinois
    

  Habitat


The northern cardinal can be found in areas like overgrown fields, marshy thickets, edges of forests, hedgerows, and backyards “like mine.”

  Predators

In Pennsylvania the northern cardinal has a wide range of predators. Adult cardinals are preyed upon by falcons, hawks, bald eagles, northern shrikes, long-eared and eastern screech owls, and domestic cats. The cardinal’s eggs may be eaten by snakes, blue jays, and even eastern gray squirrels and chipmunks. Another egg menace is the brown-headed cowbird. I will discuss this in more detail later.   

  Diet

The northern cardinal’s main diet is made up of fruit, seeds, and a mix of insects. Cardinals like to eat blackberries, wild grapes, grass, corn, hackberries, mulberries, and of course sunflower seeds from bird feeders. Cardinals will also prey upon a wide variety of insects including: leafhoppers, flies, spiders, butterflies, crickets, and beetles.  

                                                                    Photo Credit Craig ONeal

  Nesting

Male and female cardinals mate for life and will remain together year round. The breeding season normally begins in March and ends in late September. Nests are built 1 to 15 feet off the ground in small trees or in thick shrubs. Sugar maples, elm, pine, and spruce trees are common nesting trees for cardinals. Cardinal nests can also be found in honeysuckle, rose, and blackberry bushes. The nests are created by the female using materials like paper, strips of bark, twigs, grass, and vine leaves. During this time the male keeps watch for predators and rival males.
1 to 6 days after the nest is complete the female lays between 2 to 5 eggs. These eggs are white with tints of either brown, blue, or green. Gray, lavender, or brown spots also cover the eggs. The eggs are incubated by the female for 12 to 13 days. While the female sits on the nest, the male feeds and protects her. When the young hatch both the male and female will feed the young. The young cardinals grow quickly. 9 to 11 days after hatching they fledge and are ready to leave the nest. The male cardinal may continue to feed the juvenile cardinals after they leave the nest. This normally lasts two weeks. During this time the female cardinal begins to create a second nest. Cardinals can have between two to four broods each year. 
                                                                                               Photo Credit  Stephen Wolfe

  Cowbird’s Effect on Nests

As the female cardinal builds its nests sometime a female cowbird will observe the nest building and egg laying. When the female cardinal leaves the nest, the cowbird will approach the nest and remove one of the cardinal’s eggs from the nest. The cowbird will then lay an egg of its own in place of the missing cardinal egg. Unaware of what occurred the female cardinal will raise the baby cowbird alone with the baby cardinals. The young cowbird and cardinals are about the same size and grow at the same rate.    

  Conclusion

The northern cardinal is a welcome sight in my backyard. Observing a bright red cardinal brings color to winter forests on even gloomy days. Join me next time as we explore wildlife in my backyard and other nature topics.  
Side note
Just wanted to let readers know I will be taking the rest of the year off due to Christmas. I will continue posting January of 2018.  

  References and Additional Resources 

Cornell University. (2015). Northern Cardinal. Retrieved from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/id#
Martinez Jr, T. (2012). 10 Fun Facts About Cardinals You Didn’t Know. Retrieved from https://www.backyardchirper.com/blog/10-fun-facts-about-cardinals-you-didnt-know/
National Geographic. (2017). Cardinal. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/c/cardinal/
Wild-Bird-Watching. (2017). Northern Cardinal Habits. Retrieved from
https://www.wild-bird-watching.com/Cardinal.html

  Photo Credit

Craig ONeal - Northern Cardinal FemaleUploaded by snowmanradio, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29831478
Ken Thomas - KenThomas.us (personal website of photographer)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2589165
Stephen Wolfe from Columbus, OH, USA - Northern Cardinal IUploaded by Snowmanradio, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15250753


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