The red birds of the south
Northern Cardinals
So are you looking for a birdhouse to help the ecosystem? Let's see if a Northern Cardinal is a right fit for you!!
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Habitat- These birds are abundant all across northern Texas. They live in a variety of ecosystems including woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and wetlands!!
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Fun Facts- They are bright red in color and are songbirds!!
Setting up, and Cleaning
To set up this beautiful nesting box, the first step will to have a nail, screw or some way to attach it to a tree. The box will need to be 5-6 feet up off the ground ideally in a tree though you may use a fence or post. To clean this nesting box you will need to use a scrub brush and soapy water to scrub the interior of the birdhouse. Then rinse it well with water and set it out in the sun to dry. If you find mites in the box soak the house with a solution of 10% bleach to 90% water. Then let it dry out for 24 hours before setting it back up to be reused by your bird species once again. (Boxes will need to be cleaned every season)
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However, we offer a service to clean your nesting box for a fee of 15$. This money will go back into buying supplies and helping our non-profit in as many ways as it can.
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How to help
Data collection would be very helpful to us to improve in the following years. See how you can help! You can watch the activity from far and write down data. Data could be such as when did you first start seeing your birds and when did you last see them? And on which days did you see them? As well as if birds did end up using your nesting box or not. There is a Post-Sign Up form which you will fill out after receiving your birdhouse and its number. Attached to that form will be another one in which after the season is over you can submit your data. Again this would be extremely helpful, if you are unable to give an exact number you are allowed to guestimate.
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Forms are found at the "Bird Conservation" page.
Northern Cardinals
Cardinals love to have an open nesting area, though some individuals do prefer ones with an enclosed space​ rarely.
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To place the birdhouse correctly you ideally want it in a place with dense shrubs to provide protection, as they are very private birds. You want it to be 5-6 feet high, and in a tree with many branches. To get more success with your nesting box you can buy some local shrubs to place around the location of your box. This will greatly increase the chances of success since these birds love their privacy.
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Try your best to leave the birdhouse ALONE from spring-summer. Interaction can scare off cardinals that may choose this birdhouse as their home. (Since cardinals do breed around 2-3 times each summer) Feel free to watch from a distance, but it is not advised to go near the birdhouse.
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In the fall once the cardinals have stopped using it you should clean it. Use a scrub brush and soapy water to scrub the interior of the birdhouse. Then rinse it well with water and set it out in the sun to dry.
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Do the following if you find mites in the house: First, soak the house with a solution of 10% bleach to 90% water. Then let it dry out for 24 hours before setting it back up to be reused by the wrens once again.
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Cardinal nesting boxes must be placed 70-100 feet from one another.
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*Note* there is a fee of 10$ to receive a nesting box due to low donation rates
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