I share your joy!!! I waited 30 yrs to see them!
They are a sight to behold for sure. I was a young child when I saw a male in an apple tree...that memory stayed with me for many many years and as a grown women they came to my feeders. They have continued to come for quite a few years now but last year they actually brought "the family" and I have some wonderful photos of them teaching the babies to come to the feeders!! This year, not so many, but they are still coming.
Enjoy :)

That's my favorite bird, Carol! They are also a big part of my Christmas tree decorations.
I didn't know that they were so rare in your part of the country. Here in New England I see them often, though they are much more shy than the Chickadees and Nuthatches that come to my feeders.
Glad you finally got to see them and I'm sure you will see them again in your bird-friendly yard!
Ann

Errrr Carol, what all was in that tea were you drinking???

Bwaahaha! Just picking on you girl!

I'd be excited to see that in my yard too!
I've lived here all my life and never seen any around!

Cardinals are such a beautiful bird. I've been fortunate to have them around for approx. 10 years now in central Minnesota. I remember one spring I witnessed daddy bird feeding his babies right outside my window. It was humorous to watch. The babies would literally shake with their mouths open and daddy would plop a sunflower seed into their open mouths! This went on for quite a while.
I am fortunate to have them around during the winter also. They look so beautiful against the snow.
Just a couple of years ago I had a pair nesting in my grape vine. We looked forward to seeing the young, but it wasn't meant to be. A red squirrel decided to invade the nest :(

Ah Caroline- your excitement is so wonderful. Cardinals are fairly common year round where I live but I have to admit that I always stop what I'm doing to watch them when they're at my feeder. I have a Blue Atlas cedar right in front of my kitchen bay window and I just love seeing their bright red against the steely blue of my tree. And of course what is more exhilarating then a cardinal in winter.

I'm so glad they found their way to your home.
Maire

I guess I sorta take them for granted....love their soft sounds. I see them here in Maryland pretty much year-round, especially at dusk and dawn.

I never was interested in birds, but Caroline, you are making me more and more interested. I love your bird posts.

Very nice. I see cardinals in my Long Island yard every winter. Apparently they like our weather , don't mind the cold.

The cardinal is the state bird of Ohio and we had lots of them which I've always loved. Luckily we have them here in Georgia too and enjoy seeing them at our feeders. We have a large variety of birds that come to our feeders and we love them all, from the tiny hummingbird to the beautiful black crows.

Caroline, Lucky you, of course you are giddy, I would be too. I would love to see a Cardinal, but here in Northern California, it is very unlikely.

they are gorgeous

I'm so glad that you have them! I guess I just take them for granted because we have so many, but I love each of them. One of them was just atop the tree singing "Purty, purty, purty"..they are each such a gift.

Love the cardinals! Here where I live in a Retirement community had been farmland, with no trees. Now that the 20 acres have been populated and trees are full grown, we are getting more and more birds.

I have recently been seeing a cardinal from time to time.

I did some reading to find out more about them. They are mainly ground feeders, and especially like safflower seed. I could only find small bags of it at a couple places, so I had our local Garden Center order me a 50 lb bag.

I am beginning to see one or two cardinals each day now. One day I was surprised to hear a little peep peep and there was a fledgling cardinal on my back porch rail. After a while Mama and Papa came and hovered around and flew off, then came back. After a couple minutes it was gone and I didn't see where it went. I was giddy, too, to see that interaction.

I have found that cardinals are skittish and are easily intimidated by noises and DOVES.

The Cardinal is the state bird of Virginia also. I am hoping to encourage more into my back yard, and am looking forward to seeing them in my Cleveland Pear tree this Winter. (A Cardinal in a Pear tree? Close enough.)

A side benefit of feeding safflower seed is that Grackles don't like it. But the Finches sure do!

The first thing I do each morning is to look out to see if there is a cardinal out there!

Sue

Thanks everyone. It's so nice to have people to share my birding events with.

Sue, I'm happy you're getting to enjoy the cardinals, too. They also relish the black oil sunflower seed, but then, so do the grackles.

I'm fortunate in that I have very few grackles; right now I have 2-4 of them hanging around but I don't see them often. There are more here for a week or so during the spring and fall migrations. I take the BOSS and suet feeders down at those time.

Lynn D, after Ms. Cardinal left, I called my Auntie in Arkansas to tell her about the sighting. As we were talking on the phone I could hear her cardinals singing the "purty purty purty" song.

HappyTime CA...once "my" cardinals are established (I might as well dream big!) you'll just have to take a road trip and come out to visit them.

Stick around Jaime LA. "We'll" get you hooked! If you could come out and watch just one nest check with the tiny Purple Martin hatchlings, you'd be a goner for sure! LOL

NodakGal...You're welcome to come for "tea!" It's Lipton's finest, but I guess you can tell I did get wild and added some fresh lemon zest!

Peg MN...When I was a child there was a large holly shrub next to my north-facing bedroom window. One year a cardinal pair made thier nest there. It was in the perfect place for me to be able to watch them from just a few inches away. They didn't seem to mind me peering through the window's sheer curtains.

Just a comment on a couple of cardinals in my yard. I have a strange looking male. Instead of being red, he's orange. A very bright orange! He looks really strange. I also have a female that is completely brown including her beak. These are 2 very strange birds. I guess it's some kind of mutation. For some reason, I get quite a few birds that are strange in their own group. I have had red finches with completely white heads, I've had many finches with only 1 eye, too. Maybe I need to be careful of the water I drink???

We have had a pair here for several years. When DS was younger and used to watch for them we named them Roger and Rita!

Caroline, p.s. I also have BOSS, but I am not using it now because the grackles are so numerous. I expect some of my neighbors are and that's fine with me. By Fall the grackles will have migrated (I hope) and I will use the BOSS along with the Safflower. I also have a tube feeder for Niger.

About the "purty, purty, purty" song. Where we lived years ago we had a lot of cardinals. When I heard that sound I would tell my DH that the birds were talking about me because they were saying "pretty, pretty, pretty." Nice little memory.

Sue