Where Do Cardinals Nest?

Written by Angie Menjivar
Updated: September 29, 2023
Share on:

Advertisement


You don’t have to be a birder to spot a cardinal and keep your gaze on it, admiring it from a distance. These birds are bright and bold. They’re not easy to miss and when you do spot one, it’s a natural response to stop and stare. Learn more about cardinals, including where they nest and how they build their nests!

What Are Cardinals?

Cardinals are distinguished by their bright red colors. The male is brighter, with different tones of red all the way through its plumage but the females are also bright, boasting reddish-orange accents on their otherwise brown bodies. Northern cardinals can be spotted in flight and may even grace your yard. The females are joyous singers and usually make their unique sounds when nesting.

Northern cardinals are year-round residents of wherever they make their home.

©iStock.com/EEI_Tony

The males are fiercely territorial, especially during the spring and summer seasons. They may get so territorial, in fact, that even their own reflections cause an aggressive response. On average, the life span of a cardinal is three to five years. They face dangers in the wild, including predators and disease. But there have been cardinals that made it past 15 years old!

These birds are most active in the early morning hours and again at dusk — this is when they’re interested in food sources. During the day, they can be heard happily singing. They are found primarily throughout southeastern states and for North Carolina, it’s such a common bird that it became the official state bird!

Where Cardinals Nest

With each new mating season comes a new nest for cardinals (that’s two nests per year!). When they pick their mates, they stick together, mating for life. Trees, vines, and shrubs are preferred nesting locations for cardinals. They choose above-ground areas for their nests, sometimes up to 15 feet high. Cardinals seek out dense materials and nooks that offer plenty of protection.

Northern Cardinal with hatchlings

Trees, vines, and shrubs are preferred nesting locations for cardinals.

©Agnieszka Bacal/Shutterstock.com

Although you might think a birdhouse sounds ideal, for cardinals these manmade structures teeter over onto the side of being too enclosed. They still need to feel that sense of cover but prefer having a more open layout. Even when the female has found the perfect spot, after her hatchlings are old enough to source their own food, she leaves the nest and starts building another one in another location.

How Cardinals Build Nests

Females take the lead on this end. To build a nest, they start a search for the right nesting materials. Their aim is to create a partially enclosed environment and to accomplish this, they use twigs, hair, pieces of bark, and paper bits. The male participates but in a different way. While she’s out and about gathering and creating, he is standing guard, ensuring she’s kept safe during this important process. He basically acts as her private security!

Bonus: Why Do Cardinals Attack Windows?

USA, Florida, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Cardinal attacking its reflection in car mirror.

Cardinals mistake their own reflections for rival birds.


Image: Danita Delimont, Shutterstock

©Danita Delimont/Shutterstock.com

In the article above we learned that the role of the male cardinal is to provide security for his mate while she’s busy raising the chicks. These guys take their job so seriously that they sometimes mistake their own reflections for rival birds and launch doomed attacks on themselves. Most of the time – it is a big picture window or glass door reflecting sun, foliage, and bird – but it can be as small as an image reflected on a car mirror. Of course, the gallant bird’s efforts are never going to be rewarded and an endless cycle can begin and seem like it will never end. Many birds suffer major injuries or even die from the impact of flying into windows. It also causes strain on the humans inside the house who have to listen to continuous thumps and pecks.

How to Stop Cardinals From Attacking Windows

Most Expensive Birds-Northern Cardinal

Male cardinals will do anything to keep their mates safe.

©Bonnie Taylor Barry/Shutterstock.com

There are ways to remedy this problem if you are willing to allow aesthetics to take second place in your priorities during nesting season:

  • If you have curtains, blinds, or shades, pull them down to make it harder for the birds to see their reflections.
  • Put plastic bags around car mirrors when not in use and secure with rubber bands.
  • If you don’t have screens on your windows – consider installing them to make them less reflective.
  • Soap your windows during the nesting season.
  • Hang decorative window films or make stripes with tape on the outside of your windows during nesting season.
  • Put adhesive-backed cut-outs of hawks or falcons on the window.
  • Attach a picture of a human face in your window.
  • Move your bird feeder away from the window.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Félix Uribe, CC BY-SA 2.0 – License / Original


Share on:
About the Author

Angie Menjivar is a writer at A-Z-Animals primarily covering pets, wildlife, and the human spirit. She has 14 years of experience, holds a Bachelor's degree in psychology, and continues her studies into human behavior, working as a copywriter in the mental health space. She resides in North Carolina, where she's fallen in love with thunderstorms and uses them as an excuse to get extra cuddles from her three cats.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us? Contact the AZ Animals editorial team.