Joyce's and Monroe's Backyard Birds/ Northern Cardinal

Last Update: 5/14/2016

We have several Northern Cardinals living near our yard. They are very easy to see with the bright red coloring of the male, and the similar, distinctive shape of the female. I think we have 4-5 cardinals- we've seen two larger males at the same time, plus a much smaller, less red male, and two different females.

The cardinals have a distinctive chirping sound. They make a loud "zeeeeep" sound. We hear them early in the mornings, and a quick look out the window shows one or more cardinals feeding on the seed in the feeder or on the seed that has fallen on the ground beneath the feeder.

Cardinal 1

This large male cardinal is sitting on the fence. The photo was taken in June 2003 through the slats of the deck fence of our Belcamp home.

Cardinal 2

This male cardinal and a friend are dining at our feeder.

Cardinal 3

A female cardinal and a couple of house sparrows are eating the seed on the ground under the feeder. Note the female cardinal has the same shape and head crown as the male, but has more muted colors.

Cardinal 4

Another view of a female cardinal.

Cardinal in tree

This cardinal was seen in the backyard of our Havre de Grace home on April 24th, 2005.

Female cardinal

This female cardinal was seen at Susquehanna State Park in May, 2006.

Female cardinal

This female cardinal was at our backyard feeder in January 2007.

Cardinal and White Throat

This female cardinal and white throated sparrow were on our feeder in January 2007.

Female Cardinal

This female cardinal was at the feeder in March 2009.

Unusual Cardinal

This bird was near the Ma and Pa trail in Bel Air, MD in November 2009.

Cardinal

My Wingscapes camera took this photo in May 2010.

Cardinal

This one was near the picnic area of Susquehanna State Park on April 28th, 2012.

Cardinal in the snow

This male perched in our snowy backyard tree on March 25th, 2013.

Cardinal without a tail

This one has no tail. That did not seem to stop it from flying normally.

Cardinal

We saw this one at Susquehanna State Park on May 4th, 2014.

These Cardinals were in our backyard during the March 5th, 2015 snowstorm.

Cardinal

Cardinal

These Cardinals were at Mariner Point Park in Joppatown, MD on March 8th, 2015.

Cardinal

Cardinal

Cardinal

This bird was in our yard during the snowstorm on January 23rd, 2016.

Cardinal

This one was at Mariner Point Park on January 30th, 2016.

Cardinal

These were at our feeder in February, 2016.

Cardinal

Cardinal

Cardinal

Cardinal

This bird was at our feeder on March 4th, 2016.

Cardinal

And this female Cardinal was at our feeder on March 10th, 2016.

Cardinal

I saw this one at Susquehanna State Park on April 30th, 2016.

Cardinal