A good cardinal bird feeder is any feeder whose design accommodates the cardinals preference to “bend at the hip” or not at all when feeding. You need a feeder that doesn’t force the bird to turn its body. Cardinals will be seen more often if you add a tray to the bottom of your feeder. A basic hopper feeder is good for feeding the cardinals. A fly through bird feeder is open on all sides and has ample space for the bird to fly through. It is a great choice for cardinals. Platform feeders on the ground are ideal for cardinal feeders. Beware of the cats that may get your birds.
The first pick for feed for the cardinal is safflower. This is a bitter tasting seed that squirrels, grackles and starlings tend to not eat. Black oil sunflower seed and sunflower hearts (chips) are also favorites of cardinals.
Cardinals are of the finch family. The males have a black “mask” from the eyes to the throat, while the females and young birds are buffy brown, with touches of red on the crest, tail and breast. They have long tail feathers and rounded wings. The various shades of red and the high pointed crest on it make the cardinal stand out in any area. Cardinals are unique in appearance, making it easy to identify them.
The loud song of the cardinal is like a chant with a series of single and double notes being repeated. Both males and females sing almost year round with a pleasant, simple song that’s often countering, that is the male answers the female on a slightly different pitch. Cardinals do not migrate. Even in Canada and the northeastern United States, these delightful birds remain at home all winter, giving you a chance to enjoy their beautiful colors and song.
Cardinals are an easy bird to please. Provide favorite seeds and the cardinal will often be your first bird to your feeder in the morning and the last at night. If you provide clean, fresh water and a good bird feeder full of seed for the cardinal, you will likely have these beautiful song birds singing in your back yard year round.
ref: American Birding Guide
All about Birds
Encarta Encyclopedia Birds Birds and More Birds by Margaret Mauldin
Birds are so interesting. Their colors are speculator. Their skill at building their nest, watching them eat and feed their young is amazing. They soar through the air with an ease we do not understand. I love watching the birds, "but I want them outside, away from me!" I realize a have a bird phobia. I attract birds like a magnet.
No one I know has had as many encounters with birds. It's not that I have not tried to overcome this phobia. I have. Let a bird fly close and bam, it's there again.
A bird feeder on the end of our patio has brought many hours of enjoyment for us watching the birds. I have been limited in going there because of the proximity of the flying birds. One evening, we left the back door open to "let in some fresh air". Sure enough in flew a bird and out the door I went. My husband came up with a plan. We have a creek behind our house and trees on the other side. He took two 100 foot ropes, tied them around a big tree across the creek and to the post on our patio. He put a pulley on the ropes and bird feeders. He can then pull the feeders in to re-fill the them. We are able to watch the birds from our living room window and from the patio. A bonus, the birds are not close to me and my crazy phobia.
When I was a young child, we lived on a farm. We had chickens and a rooster. Every time my sister and I would go outside to play, that rooster would fly at us, striking with his beak and feet. We told Dad what the rooster was doing to us, but he never saw it. One day when he was home, it happened again. We made a bee line for the car and jumped inside. Dad was watching and that was the end of that rooster.
Dad always said he contributed to my bird fears. In the spring of that same year, Dad was moving chickens from the brooder house and wanted me to help. I was holding a chicken by the feet, as far as both arms would reach from my body. Not far for an eight year old afraid of wings and feathers. One of the chickens flopped and I let it go. Dad thought by making me catch it, my fears would be eased. Scared, screaming and crying, until I caught that chicken, which took a long time, it did not help!
As a teenager, our family went to visit friends. As soon as I stepped in the front door, a bird was flying across the room. It was just a little parakeet, but I went out and stayed out until the bird was caged for the rest of the visit.
Years later, I was carpooling to work. One summer day we were on our way home in a car with no air conditioning. We had the windows down because it was hot. I was in the back seat of this 2 door car. As we rounded a curve near my home, you guessed it, a bird flew in the window. I nearly wrecked that poor driver before she could get the car stopped and me out of her car. When I could finally look at it, that poor little bird looked nearly as scared as I was.
Several encounters with birds getting in my house, have had me fleeing to the bathroom or bedroom to slam the door and wait for someone to extract the bird. A particular incident in 1968, nearly scared my neighbor to death. We had just bought and moved into a house with a fireplace. I never had a fireplace before and didn't know if you weren't burning it, you should keep the vent closed. My four children were in school and I was home alone. There came a bird, right down the chimney and into the house. I ran, right into the sliding glass door, skinned my knee trying to get the door open, and lost my shoe. Crying and screaming. I ran to my neighbor's house. She thought someone was after me, but it was just a bird! She didn't know I had this phobia of birds. She wiped the blood from my knee, calmed me down, and she had to go get the bird out of my house.
Many years later, we moved to the coast of Texas. We loved the beach, walking along on it and listening to the waves from the ocean. It is quite a sight to see the different birds soaring over the water and coming to the beach looking for food. They hover and want to get as close as they can. When I go, we take no food, and I "hide" behind my husband so he can protect me from the birds. And no, I have not seen the movie "The Birds"!
Recently, we left our car at my daughter and son in laws home, because we were going somewhere with them. We left the windows down about a quarter to half way. When we returned I volunteered to roll up the windows on the car. I sat down on the driver's seat and saw a flutter of wings. This was not a good sign. I shrieked bloody murder, scrambled out of the car as fast as I could. I was wailing like a siren all the way to the house. My son in law met me on the porch. I told him there was a bird in the car, so he went to check it out. Later, he came inside and said he could not find a bird in the car. I told him he better find the bird, because I was not getting in that car until it was gone. He grumbled as he went out to check the car again. When he came back, he said "you were right, it was under the front seat." Of course, I was right. My phobia is highly tuned to those wings and feathers.
I love watching the beautiful birds that come to our yard. Since I can't get over this awful bird phobia, here I sit on my patio watching the birds across the way and listening to their wonderful songs. Just maybe they won't come close enough to make me go inside.
The Rose-Breasted Grosbeak Bird By Margaret Mauldin What a surprise to have two male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak birds on our bird feeder in the month of May. Then to our amazement we had three females appear! These birds are neo-tropical migrants. They spend the winter months in an area from central Mexico to northern South America. In May, they return to the North American continent and take up residence in the northeastern United States and southern Canada. Their habitat is shrubbery, woodlands, and brushy stream areas adjacent to open fields. The male birds arrive before the females, select a nesting territory, and begin singing to attract a prospective mate. As well as, the sunflower seeds from our bird feeders, a typical diet for these beautiful birds might include seeds of elms, blossoms of hickory or beech trees, buds of white ash, flowers and fruit. Insects of the forest such as gypsy moths and tent caterpillars are also table fare for Grosbeaks. The Grosbeaks savor crop damaging beetles, locusts, cut worms, chinch bugs and other creepy crawlers. Because of this they are sometimes called the “potato bug bird”. The Rose Breasted Grosbeak is of the finch species. The male has a black head, back, bright red breast and white rump, sides and belly. The bird’s wings are black with white patches above and red, white and black below. The bird in flight reveals startling pink-red linings on the wings. These birds have a large, stout, pale pink-almost white, conical bill. They have a long slightly notched black tail with white patches. The female Grosbeak has a buff color breast with heavy brown streaks on the sides, making it seem almost drab compared to the male bird. The only “showy” part of the female is her yellow wing linings, only visible in flight. The male and female birds bear little resemblance to each other. Except for the bill, they can be easily mistaken for two different species. Both male and female birds are about the size of a starling. The male bird is a proud and devout family man. He helps build the nest of twigs and grasses usually in a small tree or bush five to fifty feet high. The nest appears as a flimsy constructed saucer. He also takes his turn incubating the eggs. The female Grosbeak lays three to five light green eggs with brown spots. Incubation time for the eggs is thirteen to fourteen days. He sits on the nest from morning to afternoon, while the female gets the night shift. After hatching the baby birds leave the nest in nine to twelve days. The male bird is so happy to be included in the family chores that he even sings while on the bird nest. Both the male and female birds sing; their songs very similar to a robin. Rose Breasted Grosbeaks often sing from the treetops in their loud, clear song. It is richer and a more melodious version of the lengthly sing-song of the robin. The notes are sweeter and they have more slurred whistles.
The Rose Breasted Grosbeak is a favorite bird in Mexico, Central and South America. Here the locals are fond of them and often capture them for pets. We had not seen a Rose Breasted Grosbeak before and were so happy to have them come to our bird feeders. They have already moved on for their flight to the northeastern states. We hope when the late summer days start to become crisp, these beautiful birds will again visit our bird feeders on their way south for the winter.
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Bird, Birds, Bird Houses, Bird Feeders, Bird Baths
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