Where are all the Cardinals?...Here!

Watched from behind by some male Northern Cardinals

Kim, the Kitchen Window Birder asked yesterday, "Where are all the cardinals?" She lives in central Massachusetts and reports seeing fewer Northern Cardinals in her area this winter. We had a pair nest in our yard this summer. The adults and four juveniles were seen frequently in the area until winter arrived. Now I only see the adults when they visit my feeders faithfully at dawn and dusk and rarely see them in the middle of the day. They are territorial birds.


I have been visiting a local trail at Riverside Park in Cambridge frequently. The walking is easy in this marshy area and the birds are plentiful. Tree Sparrows are seen by the dozen. Chickadees feed easily from your hand and several Blue Jays are about too. I rarely see Blue Jays at home, even for easy peanuts. On New Year's Day, my husband and I were treated to a very vocal Pileated Woodpecker near the walkway. White-breasted Nuthatches and Juncos are also plentiful.

A Chickadee investigates my binoculars

I have never seen so many Cardinals in one location. The birds on this trail are used to people filling feeding trays which are set out in a couple of locations. Last week while I was feeding some Chickadees I was surprised to find myself surrounded at a distance by Cardinals. I counted no less than ten of them as they waited to see if I would put out seed for them. I have never seen them grouped like this. Some sunflower seeds thrown on the ground enticed them to come gradually closer.

Female Northern Cardinal

I have mentioned before that Northern Cardinals were not found in southern Ontario fifty years ago. Their range has gradually spread northward as has the range of the House Finch. They are not found in northern Ontario even in the summer.

Other birds seen along this trail...
White-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee
American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco

There are likely similar clusters of Cardinals in Massachusetts in wooded and marshy areas. They eat of varied diet of seeds, fruit, buds and insects. There bright colour and cheery cheep is always welcome in the winter.