Cardinals are a favourite winter bird for homeowners to feed. They brighten up a dismal environment with the male's scarlet colouring and the female's subdued red feathering.
Most birdseed combinations may lure a few cardinals to your feeder, but others will draw them in. If the food options are good, a dozen or more cardinals may gather around a feeder.
Cardinals adore all sunflower seeds. However, black oil sunflower seeds are more oilier than striped sunflower seeds. Black oil seeds add calories and nutrients to their meal.
Another typical winder cardinal food is safflower seeds. Safflower is a thistle-like annual harvested for vegetable oil. The 15–20 seeds per bloom are also ideal for cardinals.
In winter, suet is another fantastic source of calories and fat for cardinals. Beef fat is rendered and shaped into blocks. The high-fat content of suet keeps birds warm and alive in winter.
Cardinals like peanuts, sunflowers, safflowers, and suet. Peanuts are another high-fat snack that can keep cardinals warm and fed in winter. Besides lipids, peanuts give cardinals fibre, calcium, potassium, and other minerals.
Cardinals feed around dawn and dusk. Birds recharge their vitality in the morning. Cardinals gain energy by feeding before dusk to stay warm overnight.