According to an old Golden Field Guide I have, if you want to know where Northern Cardinals range, draw a curvy line exactly down the heart of the contiguous United States. Cardinals can be found in every state east of the line. Conversely, they exist almost nowhere to the west of it, except for one isolated section of Southern Arizona. Lucky for us, that happens to include Catalina State Park.
Female Northern Cardinal caught perching on a bush, at Catalina State Park, AZ.
I see at least one or two Cardinals every time I visit Catalina State Park. The most likely place to catch a glimpse of these showy birds is in the Riparian sections of the park. This includes the Birding Trail, the Bridle Trail and the Canyon Loop Trail. Cardinals are low flyers. If you’re patient enough to hang out at the Sutherland Wash a while, there is a good chance you’ll see one fly from one side to the next
Cardinals often feed from the ground, but I’ve seen them plucking insects from the bark of trees as well. Sometimes, if they’re desperate or bold enough, they will even scavenge the picnic tables. I took the inset photo, as I sat on a picnic table, at the main parking lot. One came within a few feet of me. I’ve only seen that happen once. That behavior seemed out of character for Cardinals, but who knows. Are Cardinals going to begin behaving like some Jays. I doubt it, but who knows? It could be an inflection point for them.
Northern Cardinals are year round residents of Catalina State Park. Like most birds, they get nervous when a camera is pointed in their direction, especially at close range. But, on rare occasions they will hold their ground for a little while, as was the case when I took this photo, along Sutherland Wash. He gave me about eight seconds to get some shots off, before he took off. That’s about seven seconds more than I usually get.
Male Cardinals are always easily recognized by their red showy red plumage. Female Northern Cardinals, on the other hand, can easily be mistaken with Pyrrhuloxia, their local close cousins. They both boast variations of red and gray. This female Cardinal exhibits a bit more color than most. This photo was taken in December. With less foliage around, they’re easier to spot.
You can see more of my images of Cardinals from my gallery page Birds of Arizona.