"Make sure there are no grubs) They know exactly where the grubs are - they do not dig, if there are no grubs. Skunks are hunting for grubs too." I agree, treat your yard for grubs.

I know what a thrill it is to get a cardinal -- the farmhouse I lived in for 18 years had none when I first moved there -- I was so excited when my efforts with feeders, birdbaths, and habitat additions started paying off and the cardinals arrived! Cardinals will come to hanging feeders as long as there's an area big enough for them to land on, as indicated by pondwelr. They often can't feed from tube feeders because the perches are small for them to sit on and twist around enough to get into the ports, but if there's a tray attached to the bottom, like pondwelr has, they can sit on that and feed. Some of my tray feeders have been on posts and some have been hanging -- and sometimes I feed right on the ground or another flat surface (where I live now we have a patio surrounded by a stone wall and we put seed on the top of the stone wall). Unhulled seed is great because you don't have all the hulls all over the ground, and the birds love it (less work for them, too!). It is more expensive but that's the biggest drawback. I don't have a house sparrow or finch "problem" where I am, but in my old farmhouse I had dozens of them -- I put cracked corn and millet on the ground for them; they still ate some of the black oil but they also ate on the ground a lot and it saved me a little $. Or so I like to believe :) And the millet draws in other little sparrows that aren't as common as house sparrows, like the white-throated and white-crowned sparrows, during migration. The more activity you get, the more you'll draw in. Warning: feeding birds can be addictive! :) I'm including a link for the birding forum -- it's a great place to learn more about birds, if you're interested. Have fun! and enjoy those cardinals! Here is a link that might be useful: birding forum

whenever I hear people discussing ways to discourage the sparrow I have to ask myself why? As You can easily see from my photo's when there is an abundant supply of food the birds will all mingle well. From my observation it is only when the food is in short supply that they really begin to be territorial. The question then becomes, why is the seed in short supply? No doubt the answer here is simple economics. People don't care to spend a lot of money on expensive birdseed, only to have it consumed by the less desirable birds and they don't get to see the species they are really interested in. From my experience the solution here is to shop around for your wild bird seed. By example, we have a local store that caters specifically to feeding and attracting wild birds. They sell a general mix of wild bird seed for $15 for a 20lb bag. On the other hand, Walmart has 20lb bags of the same seed for $10, however at Walmart it is a seasonal item and by now you probably can't find it. How would you like to find a year around source that has a better selection at prices far below the average retail store prices? In almost every community there is a store that specializes in selling feed, grain and hay for horses or farm animals. When my sister goes to the feed mill to buy feed for her horses I tag along and buy 50# bags of premium wild bird seed (mixed seed & peanuts) for $12 plus I buy a 50# bag of black oilseed sunflower seed for another $13. I then mix the two together and I end up with a premium blend for an average of $.25/lb. If you cannot find a Feed & grain supply in your community check out TSC (Tractor Supply Co.) TSC is also a great place to find feeders of all types for prices far below what you find in the regular retail stores, but then feeders are so simple to build i don't see why anyone would pay the prices they ask in most stores. While we are on the subject of bird feed, you may be surprised at how much you throw away every month without realizing it. When you bake a ham or a roast trim off the excess fat and put that in your suet feeder, the birds love it. At my house we all love to eat acorn or butternut squash. When you hollow out the seeds put them out for the birds, here again, they love it. Making a salad? Save the carrot peelings of the birds and by all means, be sure to save your orange or grapefruit peelings. I have seen a Bluejay grab an entire half section grapefruit peel and fly it up into the pine tree. Stale popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, breakfast cereal and cookies all go over well with the birds and as silly as it may sound, even leftover porky beans, whole kernel corn or green beans will quickly disappear when the birds find them. As you can see, I have taken feeding the birds rather seriously however to tell the truth it is more an means to an end. Since I retired last June I have taken up nature photography as a hobby, and since it is a bit too cold to get out in the woods like i would like to do, this is a way i can bring nature to me while i comfortably sit in the house...LOL. Gein that the subject of this thread was how to attract cardinals I thought i might post a couple more Cardinal Picks, along with one of my favorite pics of a Bluejay.

thank you! Iôve attached a pic of the popsicle bird feeder. One of those Pinterest things. Thank you for the advice, I was thinking to change the feeder, but thought first to try and get a different seed mix. What I got supposedly does not attract doves, but they there were....bullying the poor cardinals that wanted to come. I read that somebody posted once that the doves are scared easily. Not where I live. I actually have to go out and make a scandal before they just jump on the fence and watch me from there. Iôll try changing feeders...no fun watching doves eat my seeds.