a male cardinal sings in an ice-coated tree
Nothing signals the imminent arrival of spring as the words, “Pitchers and catchers report for spring training.” Spring training baseball games have just begun, which got me thinking about Arizona, where both the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox play their pre-season games. That got me thinking about the Arizona Cardinals. It always struck me as odd that the team name and mascot didn’t change when the team moved from St. Louis to Phoenix, Arizona. Cardinals don’t migrate, they are year ’round residents of my garden. So I was surprised to learn that they can be found as far south as Mexico, and in parts of Arizona. (Source: All About Birds.) I just assumed that, because they are called “Northern Cardinals,” they were northern birds. How many images have you seen of cardinals in the snow on Christmas cards? How many images have you seen of cardinals sitting on saguaro cacti?
Male cardinals are easy to recognize and spot from a distance; they are a solid, bright red with a black mask. Females have more subdued, but still attractive, plumage.
Because cardinals prefer to nest in dense shrubs and and tend to forage low to the ground, you might hear them before you see them. They have a distinct, pleasing song, and both males and females sing. Cardinals will visit bird feeders, but they generally feed on seeds, fruits and insects.
Recently, I spotted four cardinals, three males and a female, hanging out in the towering pines behind my neighbors’ house. Later, the males made their way over to my garden.
To attract cardinals to your garden, plant fruiting shrubs and trees, such as blueberry (Vaccinium), elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), or juneberry (Amelanchier species) (source: Birdhouses 101). The cardinals in my garden are especially drawn to feed on crabapples. Plant dense, twiggy shrubs or thick vines, such as trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), for nesting sites. Cardinals make nests out of dry leaves and grasses, paper, bits of plastic and woody vines, so it’s a good idea after cutting ornamental grasses down in spring to leave a pile somewhere for the cardinals. Don’t forget to provide a source for water.
© 2011, Barbara Pintozzi. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Barbara Pintozzi
I love these birds! They are singing away in my garden right now with their distinctive call that my birding friends and I say sounds like “Party, party, party. Beer, beer, beer.” The males are working very hard to be deemed worthy by the females, putting on a spectacular display of puffed up red chests.
Carole Brown recently posted..Revisiting Beneficial Invasive Plants
From now on, whenever I hear them, I’ll be thinking of beer.
I have seen the flash of red recently as the male heads over to the scrub (hopefully to a nest). I don’t think I have ever seen more than a pair at a time. To see 3 males together must be an amazing, colorful sight!
Loret recently posted..The Awakening – Giant Swallowtail
I think the males are competing for the female, because I’ve seen several males at once over the years, but never more than a single female.
They really do say Christmas card to me. They are the first birds I learned to identify as a small child and I love to see them in my garden. There’s a feeding station at a nearby woodland park and there are dozens of males hanging out~It’s so cool to see that many together. gail PS As a St Louis native I was dismayed that the cardinals moved to Arizona and took the name with them!
Gail Eichelberger recently posted..We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Pollinator Post To Bring You Tommies!
Wow, a dozen together must be quite a sight. Sorry about the baseball team.
The baseball team is still in St. Louis – it’s the football team called the Cardinals that moved (and were apparently originally from Chicago anyway).
The cardinals always make me smile – the birds, not the baseball team. I think the subtle coloration of the female is so very interesting although that bright flash of unexpected red in winter is a very welcome sight. My family gets more excited about people in red soxs if you know what I mean. LOL
I actually prefer the females’ plumage. We’re all fans of the guys in black with the white sox around here.
Ah, but in Arizona you also get the charming Pyrrhuloxia! (I saw a lot more of those than cardinals when I lived there, although it took me awhile to realize I wasn’t seeing a really mangy cardinal…) I kinda miss those little birds.
Ursula Vernon recently posted..Salvia Problem
LOL – poor Pyrrhuloxia!