Northern Cardinals are the jeweled ornaments of winter. The male’s brilliant-red coloring is impossible to miss at the feeders. Unfortunately cardinals often like to visit feeders at dusk and dawn when it’s harder to see that bright red. When we get a snowstorm is when I can usually count on seeing a few cardinals in the backyard in the middle of the day.
At my feeders their favorite foods are peanut halves and safflower seeds, but they also eat sunflower seeds (black oil, striped and hulled). Cardinals feed on the ground and also visit platform and hopper feeders.
In winter the birds flock together and if you’re lucky you might get to see a dozen or more male and females in your yard at once.
