Northern Cardinals in Iowa

Northern Cardinals live in Iowa all year. Cold, windy winters; open farmland makes backyard shelter and feeders a lifeline. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward weed and grass seeds; sumac, hackberry and other persistent winter fruit; sunflower and safflower at feeders.

Humid continental prairie state, with loess hills in the west and the Driftless Area in the northeast.

Across Iowa, cardinals typically nest from April–August. Nest site: open cup built by the female in dense shrubs, vine tangles or saplings, usually 1–15 ft up. Females lay 2–5 eggs, incubate for 11–13 days, and young leave the nest after 7–13 days.

Hot, humid summers with thunderstorms.

• Northern Cardinals don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as eastern red cedar, serviceberry, winterberry for nest sites.
• Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after August.

Of the regional native plants we track for Iowa, these 8 provide food or cover cardinals use:

Cardinals feed most actively at dawn and dusk and rarely use small-perch tube feeders. Place feeders within 10–15 ft of dense shrub cover they can retreat to.

• Best foods: Black-oil sunflower, Safflower, Hulled sunflower chips, Cracked corn (sparingly).
• In Iowa's winter: Cold, windy winters; open farmland makes backyard shelter and feeders a lifeline.

Full diet breakdown for cardinals · Best feeder for cardinals