Mrs. Cardinal was out early today at my window. Her mate, Mr. Cardinal, was out a few days ago. Do you think

[CTyankee]

they might be on the verge of hatching the eggs in their nest? Do they forage for food in the early hours of daylight?

I know there are sweet bird lovers here at DU. Would like to hear more from you about cardinals!

[MOMFUDSKI]

1. I had a mockingbird nest years back in a

bush on the side of my driveway. Had some older golden raisins that I would toss on the driveway. They raised those babies on raisins! Fun

[Nictuku]

2. No Cardinals in California

At least I've never seen one here in Northern California.

But of all things, in Hawaii, there are several different kinds of Cardinals. Some with Red heads and gray/white chest/wings. I enjoyed them /soo/ much when I lived on Kauai.

In case you are interested, here is a link of images for Hawaiian Cardinals:

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=cardinals+in+Hawaii&atb=v358-1&iax=images&ia=images

I just loves these birds!

[Walleye]

3. I remember those redheaded Cardinals in Hawaii, I think they were called Brazilian cardinal?

[CTyankee]

6. They are gorgeous!

[Walleye]

4. I have seen and heard a pair of Cardinals around here the last few days.

They have a distinctive call, plus they like to feed on the ground late into the evening and make a little metallic chinking sound to keep track of each other

[10 Turtle Day]

5. The red, white and gray ones are so striking!

I love seeing our cardinals here in the midwest all year round. The small cemetery in rural Wisconsin where my dad and many on his side of the family are buried features a male cardinal on the arch over the entry way. Every time I see a male cardinal, which is often, I say “Hi Dad!” and think of him fondly.

[malthaussen]

7. There is an active birding group here at DU.

Might want to post there, too.

-- Mal

[CTyankee]

8. Thanks. I'm really not a birder, but I've been seeing these cardinals and have started to pause a moment just to look at

them. They are so beautiful!

Thank you for the suggestion. I may do that.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. My Wife's Been Seeing Them...

...in our yard for close to a month now.
Thought that was pretty early for cardinals around here.
Birds confused by the weirdly warm winter?

[Niagara]

10. Cardinals aren't migratory.

Blue Jays do and don't migrate, it's a mixed bag with them.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Did Not Know That

I don't see them in the winter here, though.
Do they, so to speak, hibernate?
The only birds I see around here in winter are sparrows & crows. I don't even see the hawks.
(I guess I do see the turkey buzzards year round, too.)

[Niagara]

12. Cardinals do several things to survive winters.

They generally live in bird houses, nesting boxes, trees or shrubs.


They flock in the winter which would be the same as humans huddling, they can fluff out their feathers, they can drop their body temperature and they can shiver.



I don't want to give you completely incorrect information as I suppose some cardinals could be like Blue Jays and could possibly migrate but they usually like to stay in their own region. They might have to travel if food gets scarce too.


I've seen a few in the winter here and there. Mainly I see Blue Jays in the winter.


I saw a hawk last week right after snow fell and stuck to the ground. I'm not sure if that's normal for a hawk, as we previously had a few 70F days right before the snow.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. How About...

That since from where we are to far southern Illinois is 300 miles, could they just move far enough south for slightly milder winters? Wouldn't be a long migration, but a couple hundred miles. Is that still the same region, or is that too big?

[Niagara]

14. I googled "how far could cardinals travel to find food"

The answer that I got was 270 miles.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. Well, I'll Be....

Maybe that's why we don't see them until March! Maybe they attend SIU in Carbondale for the winter. LOL!
Interesting exchange Niagara!

[Niagara]

16. Birds sure can be intelligent. You never know what they're up to. LOL!

It was certainly interesting, ProfessorGAC.