The Garden Club of Indiana

February brings the rain
Thaws the frozen lake again

"The Land of Nursery Rhymes"

February - Valentine's Month - Think Red

"CARDINAL"

How many of us have looked outside on a snowy morning to see this bright red bird at our feeder. Its rich coloring and its willingness to come to our feeders have made it a favorite among bird watchers. Such a favorite, it is the State Bird in seven states, including Indiana.

Have you not noticed that we are now waking up to its song of wheet, wheet, chew, chew, cheedle, cheedle. The Cardinal is the only red bird with a crest which can be found from the plains of the mid west to New York, into Canada in the Lake Erie area as well as Minnesota and South Dakota. This hardy bird, stays here all year long, feeding from our backyard feeders, usually very early mornings and at dusk. Berries
and fruit are very important to over wintering, so please consider native trees and shrubs. Dogwood, hackberry, hawthorn, holly, verbena, mountain ash, bayberry, are all desirable and when established they require little care. Cardinals will also eat insects.

The male Cardinal is entirely red, except for a distinctive black face mask. He will defend his territory with great fierceness and can often be seen fighting his own reflection in a car mirror. The female is crayon tan with some red on the wing and tail feathers. A mating pair’s nest is an open bowl of twigs and weed stems filled with leaves and grapevine bark and lined with grass. Sometimes they use paper and plastic on the outer layer and the nest are usually found in small shrubs or trees. A clutch usually has three buff white eggs with brown spots. The female will sing while incubating the eggs in the nest, telling the male when to bring food to the nest!

Jill Dinsmore

Cardinalis cardinalis