Northern Cardinals in Ohio

Northern Cardinals live in Ohio all year. Snow and sub-freezing stretches are routine; Carolina Chickadees hold the south and Black-capped the north. 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; cold winters and warm summers, with Lake Erie moderating the north coast.

Across Ohio, 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.

Warm, humid summers; western Lake Erie marshes are a major migration stopover.

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

Of the regional native plants we track for Ohio, 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 Ohio's winter: Snow and sub-freezing stretches are routine; Carolina Chickadees hold the south and Black-capped the north.

Full diet breakdown for cardinals · Best feeder for cardinals