Northern Cardinal
| My Northern Cardinal lifer on Long Island. | 08/16/2014 |
Description
The Northern Cardinal is the iconic red bird of winter and holiday motifs. It's red all over with a crest and a black face. In the spring and summer months, they are prolific singers with songs that sound like space lasers "pew pew pew".
Personal stats
First observation
| 📆 | 08/15/2014 |
| 📍 | Long Island, New York |
Captured media details
| Male |
Female |
Unknown |
|
| 📸 | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
| 🎙️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Experiences & anecdotes
08/15/2014 - During a trip to New York City, we stayed with the parents of one of our friends on Long Island. It was during our stay at their home that I officially saw my first Northern Cardinal. There were a number of bird feeders in the backyard: hopper feeders, goldfinch feeders, and hummingbird feeders. It was at these feeders that a bunch of Cardinals frequently visited. This is such a prolific and common bird throughout the Eastern half of the United States that most birders don't get excited about it. It was a lifer at this moment, so I was absolutely elated.
03/19/2023 - I've dove deeply into recording birds over the past year and the Northern Cardinal is an excellent subject. Its loud flamboyant songs remind me of spaceship lasers and stand out nicely among the other forest noises. These birds tend to quiet down in the off-season and you'll mostly hear them make calls in the winter.
Captured media
Photographs
| A female Northern Cardinal surveys from its perch | 05/26/2023 |
| The profile of the Northern Cardinal on a tree branch. | 03/30/2019 |
Audio recordings
- ML529012351 - 0:17
- This is a song of the Northern Cardinal I captured in late January as spring started to approach. It can be described as alternating quick downslurs with brief upslurs.
- ML359551091 - 0:13
- A great example of the spaceship laser song this bird often likes to sing.
- ML517873401 - 0:13
- The clear, simple call of the Northern Cardinal. Small, high-pitched pips.
- The clear, simple call of the Northern Cardinal. Small, high-pitched pips.