I have a pair of cardinals in my yard, but only one pair – which concerns me. In the summer, I always have two cardinal families that visit my bird bath and feeders. They often skirmish, but I always have two pairs. In the winter, however, I often can see 4 or 5 bright red, male cardinals standing out with a backdrop of white snow.
But now, there is only one pair.
Birds come and go, but cardinals are generally home bodies, they stick around. When food and water sources are restricted, however, they move about, and I always have food and water available.
I have noticed that my cardinals are always the first birds in the morning and the last in the evening to visit the feeders. Perhaps this is due to an attempt to lessen exposure to predators since the male cardinal certainly stands out in a crowd. They are also primarily seed feeders, though they will snatch a few live mealworms for their chicks. Their favorite seeds are sunflower and safflower seeds, but they enjoy a nibble or two of cracked corn and even shelled peanuts when available. The average lifespan of a cardinal is only three years, but there is a record of a banded female cardinal that lived 15 years and 9 months. That was an old cardinal to be sure.
I’ll be watching and hoping that a few more of these magnificent birds will pay me a visit.