Want to Attract Cardinals?
You've come to the right place!
Northern Cardinals, commonly referred to just as "cardinals", are wonderful birds. With bright colors and friendly songs that both male and female cardinals make, it's easy to spot cardinals. Cardinals are common in most parts of the country and, once they have found a source of food and water will often stay year-round.
Cardinals need the right feeder
Attracting cardinals can be as easy as putting up the right bird feeder. These colorful birds are often the first birds you'll see at your feeders in the morning and the last to leave at night. Cardinals are larger than most songbirds and have a hard time on tiny perches, so it's important to choose the right bird feeder for cardinals. Here are some of the most popular types of bird feeders that work well at attracting neighborhood cardinal birds.
Hopper and Tray Feeders
Platforms, or tray feeders as they are also known, are a great way to attract larger seed-eating birds like cardinals and mourning doves. Because platform feeders are wide open, it's easy for cardinals to stand comfortably while eating there. Hopper feeders also have lots of room for cardinals to move. These designs make it easy for squirrels to get to the bird seed too, so consider adding a squirrel baffle to your feeding area if you pick a bird seed feeder for cardinals. You'll feed more cardinals and less squirrels that way.
Hopper and Tray Feeders
Mealworm Feeders
Many people don't know that cardinal birds eat at meal worm feeders. Mealworms are a favorite food of bluebirds and orioles, but cardinals like mealworms too. Open mealworms feeders are much better for attracting cardinals, while covered mealworm feeders are likely to bring bluebirds into your yard. It's fun to see these colorful birds at your mealworm feeders.
Meal Worm Feeders
Cardinals love water
Another great way to attract cardinals to your yard is to offer fresh water. Cardinals, like all birds, need water to drink and bathe. Adding a standing birdbath to your yard is a great way to make sure cardinals (as well as lots of other birds) come to visit often. Watching a cardinal bird splash around in your birdbath is a great way to spend an afternoon. Just make sure to add a couple of sticks or rocks to your birdbath so they can get in and out easily with wet feathers.
If you live in an area that gets cold in the winter, a heated birdbath is a real must-have. Since cardinals don't usually migrate, they probably have not gone far. When natural water sources freeze up, a heated birdbath can be a real life-saver for cardinals and other birds that winter nearby. It also makes your yard the place for Cardinals to come in winter, giving you the chance to get a great view of these bright red birds in a snow-covered yard.
Pedestal Bird Baths
Cardinal food is easy to get
Cardinals are not picky eaters. One of the things that make them so easy to attract is that they will eat almost any bird food you put out. Once you start feeding cardinals, they are likely to stick around so keep your eyes out and your feeders full.
- Bird seed: If you want to offer bird seed, cardinal birds favor black oil sunflower seeds. However, that won't stop them from eating plain old sunflower seeds or safflower seeds.
- Mealworms: Prefer to offer mealworms? Not a problem for these flexible birds. Cardinals will eat mealworms from an open bird feeder just like bluebirds.
- Fruit and nuts: Cardinals will also eat peanuts from a platform feeder or fruit that is in a bowl or on a stable feeder. They really will eat almost any bird food you want to offer – just make sure they can get to it easily.
