How to Help Cardinals Through Winter – 7 Ways to Support These Beautiful Birds in October

Sighting a flash of crimson plumage from a beautiful male Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) in the winter landscape can lift the spirits for many reasons.

Loved for their symbolism as much as their striking color, these special songbirds can benefit from support, particularly when their wild food sources and shelter are in short supply.

There are several ways you can attract cardinals to your yard, which can help them through winter, such as installing this bird bath heater from Ace Hardware. Ornithology experts explain how to start preparing your garden now, with these seven simple steps.

Cardinal Behaviour in October

As fall progresses and the temperatures drop, it's likely you will notice a few differences in cardinal behavior.

'People tend to observe cardinals gathering in larger groups compared to seeing pairs in the spring and summer,' explains Miranda Rinck, Engagement Support Specialist for Project FeederWatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 'This is because there is less competition between pairs, compared to the breeding season where food, mates, and territories are in high demand.'

Miranda explains that cardinals are usually quieter in winter months too. 'They are no longer singing to attract a mate and defend their territories,' she says. 'As winter approaches, you might find cardinals in search of areas with protection and places to rest, as well as food such as seeds and fruit from plants.'

Miranda Rinck

Miranda Rinck is an Engagement Support Specialist for Project FeederWatch at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

1. Leave Leaf Piles

Being relaxed about fallen leaves or gathering them into leaf piles has numerous benefits for the garden. In addition to free nutritious mulch for flower beds, a leaf pile offers a place for cardinals to forage and find food.

'Leaving your leaves is a great way to provide a variety of food for Cardinals and other birds in your yard,' says Miranda. 'These leaf piles can harbor insects, dried seeds, and fruits creating a trove of resources for birds who spend time foraging along the ground.

'This is a quick and easy way to support Cardinals and other feathered friends, especially for those in deciduous forest regions where leaves fall as the temperature drops.'

Create a leaf pile for cardinals in your yard with this Fiskars rake from Ace Hardware

2. Create Brush Piles

Brush piles are made up of fallen branches or chopped logs and twigs and are often a feature in wildlife gardens, as they are a haven for beneficial bugs or overwintering solitary bees. Often located in a quiet corner, or undisturbed area, in the garden, brush piles attract foraging birds, like cardinals, too.

'Creating a brush pile this fall can provide an area of shelter, resting, and protection from harsh weather for Cardinals and other sorts of wildlife,' says Miranda. 'They can be helpful in all regions as brush piles can also serve as an area of safety for birds escaping predators.'

These stainless steel loppers from Ace Hardware are strong enough to cut into branches up to 2" thick.

3. Preserve Cover With Shrubs, Vines And Thickets

Cardinals need a place to perch, shelter and roost during the fall and through the winter. If you grow blueberry, blackberry or mulberry bushes in your yard, avoid chopping them back too much, as they provide a pitstop – as well as a buffet of berries and bugs for cardinals. Dogwood and Sumac trees, grasses and sedges offer these birds shelter with sustenance too.

'Shrubs, vines, thickets, brush, anything can provide cover for Cardinals,' says Ted Floyd, Editor of the American Birding Association's Birding magazine. 'We love to see cardinals out in the open, of course, but they also need a place to hide and hang out – to "roost".

'If the cover also has food, that's great; but cover, all by itself, is vital. The best microhabitat at the big garden down the street from my house is a brush pile—just sticks and branches thrown together in a big heap. The birds love it.

'In warmer climes (for example, the Southeast), cardinals are omnivorous in October and throughout the winter, eating a lot of invertebrates. So don't discourage spiders, slugs, beetles (especially larvae), caterpillars etc. The best ways to encourage invertebrates are to provide shelter and, especially, to forgo use of any pesticides anywhere in or near the yard.'

This ever-bearing mulberry tree from Plant Addicts can be grown in a pot for the first few seasons before planting in the ground.

Ted Floyd

The Editor of Birding since 2002, Ted Floyd also edits all content at the American Birding Association's website and is a frequent speaker at bird festivals and scientific conferences. He is also the author of eight bird books and 200+ articles on birds and nature. 

4. Grow Native Trees And Plants That Bear Berries

If you don't already have native trees and plants that produce berries in your yard, growing some will encourage cardinals. The species mentioned above for shelter, such as Dogwood and Sumac, along with Holly and Hawthorn are popular with these colorful creatures, so check which of these species hail from your particular habitat.

Depending on your zone, Dogwood, Holly and Hawthorn will still bear berries in October and potted trees can be displayed – and still planted in some regions, where the soil is still soft.

'Berry-producing shrubs and vines are great,' says Ted. 'Grapes (Vitis) and closely related species like the creepers (Parthenocissus) are excellent in October. Also hawthorns, buckthorns, dogwoods.'

'Having native plants in your garden will keep the cardinals coming,' says Kaitlyn Parkins, Glass Collisions Program Coordinator, American Bird Conservancy. 'The male cardinal’s rich red coloration is due to carotenoids acquired by eating a variety of native fruits and berries.

'Northern Cardinals don’t head south to warmer weather in the winter like other migrating species do. Thus, they will happily dine on the berries certain native plants retain in cold weather, as well as seek shelter in their branches and leaves during cooler and snowy days.'

This Common Flowering Dogwood tree from Plant Addicts is suitable for zones 5-8 and can grow up to 20' tall and wide.

Kaitlyn Parkins

Kaitlyn has been working in wildlife conservation since 2008, holding research positions studying native plants, pollinators, migratory birds, and bats. She holds an MS in biology and an advanced certificate in conservation biology from Fordham University and a BA in biology and psychology from McDaniel College. 

5. Keep Feeders Full And Clean

In the colder months, when insects and vegetation are hard to come by, cardinals adapt their diet, and turn to seeds, fruits, and berries. As the latter start to wane in late fall too, supplemental food sources like bird feeders can be helpful.

'Cardinals can survive winter without human assistance and do fine when well nourished,' says Kaitlyn. 'But when the temperatures drop or snow piles high, our help can make a difference.

'A feeder in your garden filled with nutritious seeds like black oil sunflower seeds, safflower, and white millet will give cardinals a healthy boost of energy that helps them stay warm.'

Kaitlyn explains that suet that contains seeds, nuts, or mealworms is also extremely nourishing for cardinals during winter.

'However, stay away from suet that contains unnecessary ingredients like added processed sugars or salts, as that can be harmful to birds,' she says.

Miranda notes that cardinals often prefer a platform feeder or a large hopper over tube feeders. She also advises that keeping feeders clean is imperative as large wintering groups of birds begin to arrive, as it can help prevent the spread of disease. 'We recommend washing seed feeders every week or two, during periods of heavy use, to help birds feed safely,' she says.

'For good viewing, place the feeders against a backdrop of shelter,' adds Ted. 'And remember that cardinals will spend at least as much time on the ground under the feeder as actually at the feeder.'

'Cardinals are adaptable and resourceful, and just a bit of cover and food will attract them. They're also smart, and they won't feed where there are cats. Or, if they do, they may well be killed by cats, an undesirable outcome.'

This charming hanging Hopper feeder from Lowe's has twelve ports, so there's plenty of room for visiting cardinals, chickadees titmice and more to feed. Fill it with this black oil sunflower seed from Ace Hardware and hang it in a safe place for happy, healthy birds.

6. Provide An Accessible Water Source

A bird bath topped up with clean fresh water is essential all year round but in zones where temperatures drop to freezing before winter has even set in, swapping out a regular model for a heated bird bath will ensure visiting cardinals and other feathered friends can continue to drink and bathe.

'Overlooked but important is a reliable source of water that isn’t frozen,' says Kaitlyn. 'Even in winter, cardinals need open sources of water for drinking and feather maintenance.

'Consider getting a de-icing device to prevent water from freezing in a shallow bird bath or dish. Alternatively, winter-ready bird baths with built-in de-icing capabilities are another good option.'

Like feeders, aim to place your bird baths near the spots birds use for cover. Keep them clean and refill them regularly.

This low wattage bird bath heater from Lowe's prevents water from freezing and plugs into a power supply.

Shop Bird Accessories

7. Minimize Window Strikes

Supporting cardinals through winter isn't just about offering up a buffet for birds and shelter (although they are important), there are other practical steps to take too.

'One of the best, easiest, and most affordable things you could do for cardinals, and all wild birds in general, is to treat your windows to reduce the threat they pose to birds,' says Kaitlyn. 'Northern Cardinals are a common window collision victim because they visit bird feeders and gardens so often, particularly during the winter months.'

Kaitlyn informs us of reports of two banded Northern Cardinals that struck the same window of a residence on the same day. 'Birds don’t see windows the way people do and don’t realize there is a clear barrier,' she explains.

'They see habitat reflected in or visible through windows. Breaking up the reflection helps birds register the window as an object they can’t fly through. They need to be able to detect patterns from far enough away that they have time to change course and avoid a collision.'

More than one billion birds are killed in the U.S. every year from collisions with windows, but this is a problem we can help solve by placing insect screens, birdsaver cord, decals or birdtape on the outside of windows. Anything that can break up large expanses of glass, where trees are reflected, can be beneficial.

'Shutters and awnings are very effective at preventing window strikes, so consider those,' says Ted. 'Putting feeders and favored natural feeding areas such flowerbeds and fruiting trees etc away from windows is obvious.

'Less obvious perhaps is making sure that the cardinals' "flight paths" (as they approach or, especially, depart the feeders) don't have windows in the birds' way.'

If you fancy a bird-friendly garden in the coming months, don't wait for freezing weather to hit. Helping cardinals through winter can start now with the simple steps above.

Miranda also reminds us that Cornell's Project FeederWatch begins on November 1st. 'It is a fun thing to do, if people want to count the birds at their feeders and contribute to a participatory science program,' she says.