From mugs to sweaters and holiday cards, the striking red of the male Northern Cardinal can be spotted more times in my grandma’s living room than at my bird feeders. This beloved and bright bird has claimed the title of “state bird” in seven states and is proudly the mascot of many schools and sports teams.
Unlike many species of bird, Northern Cardinals do not migrate for the winter, nor do they molt into less vibrant plumage. Today, they are a staple for a Wisconsin winter, but at the beginning of the twentieth century, only residents along Wisconsin’s southern border would have enjoyed the sharp whistles and bright plumage of the Northern Cardinal. In fact, Northern Cardinals were not reported in Columbia County until 1935.
Female Northern Cardinal (photo by Arlene Koziol).
So how did the Northern Cardinal go from rare in Wisconsin to a well-known winter motif? According to Samuel D. Robbins in Wisconsin Birdlife: Population & Distribution Past & Present, Northern Cardinals were rare visitors to Wisconsin and had only been reported along the southern border of the state as of 1903. Lucky for us, Northern Cardinals began venturing north along major waterways such as the St. Croix, Mississippi, Chippewa, and Wisconsin Rivers around 1900, and gradually spread throughout the state in “a series of limited invasions.” By 1980, Northern Cardinals were reported in 67 of 79 count areas in the December Christmas Bird Count with a total of 3,049 individuals. Such a widespread increase can only be rivaled by introduced species like European Starlings and House Sparrows. Despite being so widespread in 1980, Robbins noted that Northern Cardinals were more numerous in the western part of the state, often congregating in flocks of 15-30 near corn cribs and hedgerows.
The range expansion of Northern Cardinals in Wisconsin did not occur in isolation. Instead, it was a part of a growth pattern stretching across the northeastern United States, which brought Northern Cardinals to northern New York and New England around the same time. Despite their rapid expansion, Northern Cardinals are still less common in northern Wisconsin today. However, according to Project FeederWatch data, Northern Cardinals’ range has continued to broaden since 1989, with more FeederWatchers reporting them in Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, and southeastern Canada.
An image from Project FeederWatch shows how the range of Norther Cardinals has spread even further north since the late 1980s (image courtesy of Project FeederWatch).
Although the relationship between humans and our beloved feathered friends is usually an unfortunate one, the Northern Cardinal has not merely survived human development, but may have thrived in it. When choosing a nesting site, cardinals prefer dense, shrubby woodland edges, thickets, and fence rows. The expansion of agriculture and suburban areas provide ample edge habitat, which may have supported cardinals in their journey north. During last year’s Great Backyard Bird Count, I counted thirteen Northern Cardinals amidst the shrubbery surrounding the buildings at Goose Pond. Thirteen cardinals is not only an impressive number for such a small area, but it was also a new Goose Pond high count! In addition to creating more nesting habitat, supplemental feeding of wild birds may have, literally, fueled their expansion.
Bill Volkert, naturalist, wildlife educator, and active member of the Wisconsin Birding Network (WISBIRDN), shared the following insight of Northern Cardinals at his feeders:
“When I do my cardinal count I wait until the very end of the day which I am sure most birders do. With the heavy snow cover that some parts of the state received recently (we have about 7 inches here) this is a good time for a local count with more birds being driven to feeders including juncos. Many years ago I had banded nearly all of the cardinals around my house and noticed that my feeder count after a snowstorm was the same as the number of birds I had banded. It seems that all of them came to feed right around sunset and I still occasionally do an end-of-day count as a casual survey.”
A female Northern Cardinal at a bird feeder is joined by some other common winter species: a Black-capped Chickadee and a Dark-eyed Junco (photo by Courtney Celley/USFWS Midwest).
Whatever the reason, I am thankful that Northern Cardinals extended further into Wisconsin and visit my bird feeders on a regular basis. I cannot imagine yearning for spring without their persistent songs or walking into a department store during the holiday season without seeing male Northern Cardinals printed on everything.
Written by Emma Raasch, Goose Pond Sanctuary Ecological Restoration Technician
Cover image: A bright red male Northern Cardinal perches amidst thin branches in winter (photo by Arlene Koziol).
For more information on Samuel D. Robbins, author of Wisconsin Birdlife: Population & Distribution Past & Present, check out Laura Erickson’s For the Birds Radio Program: Sam Robbins.
