Cardinals are back!

[Steve Foss]

Well, a pair of northern cardinals just visited our feeding station at sundown.

You may remember we'd been feeding a pair all last fall and through the winter and into spring, and the male sang on territory well into May, but then they disappeared all summer and fall.

I'm thinking these might be a different pair. Only reason I think that is male cardinals will sing all summer and we never heard him after May, so either the pair moved farther out to nest or a hawk or something got them and this is a different pair.

At any rate, same pair or different one, it's all the same to us. Gotta love those cardinals, especially up here where they were so rare for so long.

Snowfall made the difference, I think. We were in those late fall doldrums at the feeding station. Migrants already had moved through and winter birds, which have made it to the area, generally don't hit in-town feeding stations until well after they arrive.

We also had our first deer visit sometime overnight. They show up after the first permanent snowfall, and we had a pair of pine grosbeaks in the yard today.

Sounds like the birds at least know winter is here. I expect the redpolls will be next.

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

I love the Cardinals, but they are not to hard to find here, we have 3 or 4 pairs at our feeders. But up there you have the grosbeaks and a whole bunch more of a variety of birds that live in the forests of the rural areas.

[finnbay]

I've never seen a cardinal this far north. Do you need anything in particular at the feeder to attract them? Did see both pine and evening grosbeaks at the feeder this weekend.

[Steve Foss]

Black oil sunflower is just fine, Ken. They had a great time gobbling it down last winter and I expect they'll do it again this time. All we ever feed is black oil sunflower, corn (cracked for juncos and sparrows, whole shelled for jays) and suet.

When we were at a kennel near Embarrass last spring we heard a male singing in the woods nearby. They're around. Reason we have these in our yard is that there's an awful lot of thick brushy cover in the transition zone between our yards and the woods all along W. Chandler on Finn Hill. Cardinals love the thick stuff for cover.