Northern Cardinals in Virginia

Northern Cardinals live in Virginia all year. Moderate winters with periodic snow; purple finches and occasional northern finches visit feeders. 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 subtropical in the east, cooler and snowier in the Blue Ridge and Allegheny highlands.

Across Virginia, 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; House Wrens and hummingbirds breed statewide.

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

Of the regional native plants we track for Virginia, 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 Virginia's winter: Moderate winters with periodic snow; purple finches and occasional northern finches visit feeders.

Full diet breakdown for cardinals · Best feeder for cardinals