Cardinals stick together at the end of nesting season

Q: I'm enjoying seeing a male and female cardinal at my feeders and sitting in a nearby tree together. Are they a couple?

A: Cardinal pairs don't separate after nesting season, as many songbirds do. Instead, they typically remain together all year long, like the pair you've been observing. As spring approaches, you may see signs of courtship, such as the male offering a seed to the female. But if one of them should die, the surviving bird will find another mate.

Bird scouts?

Q: Looking out at a crowd of birds at my feeders, I'm wondering how the birds that aren't regulars find the feeders their first time. Do they scout out an area for feeders before they alight?

A: That's a good question, and you're halfway to the answer. Birds probably don't look for bird feeders, since these aren't part of their natural landscape. What they do look for is other birds actively feeding, a sure sign that food is available. One example: Goldfinches aren't strictly migratory, but the finches you see in summer may have been replaced in the late fall by birds from farther north. They may not know that a long, thin plastic tube holds a feast of nyger seeds, but seeing other goldfinches stacked up at feeder ports is a good clue. It's the same with dark-eyed juncos, who come down from farther north to spend the winter. If they see sparrows and other juncos snapping up food on the ground, they'll likely drop down to check it out.

Is corn bad?

Q: Most suet cakes seem to have corn as a major ingredient, and downy woodpeckers often drop some to the ground as they peck away. Can this be harmful to birds that feed on the ground?

A: You're right, many suet cakes contain corn, probably because it's an inexpensive filler. I see it listed on the suet cakes I buy, after peanuts and oats. Corn isn't harmful to birds, but it isn't very high in nutrition. I've seen cardinals and other ground feeders seeking out cracked corn, but then they add in safflower and sunflower seeds at feeders for a well-rounded meal.

Beak behavior

Q: I offer suet cakes at feeders outside my apartment. Before and after feeding, the downy woodpeckers perch near the fascia and peck at it. Why do they do that?

A: If ever there was a bird created to peck at things, it's the downy woodpecker. If the woodpeckers who perch on your building are swiping their beaks back and forth, then I'd say they're cleaning errant bits of suet off their beaks. But if they're actually pecking, then they're probably practicing a favorite activity of woodpeckers. It's possible, too, that they're doing both things.

Eagle being grisly

Q: I was watching the eagle pair that nests near the river where I live, and one of the eagles was flying around with something in its talons. I took a photo and blew it up at home and it turned out to be the head and neck of a goose. When his mate showed up, he perched and ate it. Isn't this weird?

A: It must have been a strange sight, but it's really not out of character for bald eagles, since they eat a lot of carrion, especially in winter. The eagle you spied must have come across a goose carcass and snatched up the head. He or she might have enjoyed flying around with it, but when another eagle appeared, he didn't want to risk a food fight, so he ate it.

Houseful of eggs

Q: During the January cold snap, I opened my wood duck house to prepare it for spring. Although this nest box usually produces little ducks each spring there were 20 unhatched eggs inside. What's your take on what might have happened?

A: It sounds as if something frightened off the female duck last year just as incubation was about to begin. The mother duck might have been either a female wood duck or female merganser, as both compete for the same-sized nest boxes. The fact that there were so many eggs indicates that more than one duck was involved in egg laying — 20 is a high number, with 12 being more usual. It's also possible that a predator killed the female just as egg-laying was completed. A sad thing, but I'm happy to hear that your nest box usually produces a brood of ducklings.

Gruesome woodpecker

Q: After reading your piece about red-bellied woodpeckers, I wanted to share something I saw several years ago. A red-bellied woodpecker impaled a chickadee on a tree twig in my backyard. The chickadee later disappeared, so I don't know if the woodpecker ate it or whether the small bird flew away. Isn't this strange behavior?

A: It is fairly gruesome behavior, but there are a number of reports of red-bellied woodpeckers eating other birds. Most of these observations are in springtime, when the woodpecker is focused on protein to feed its brood in the nest. I've read of red-bellied woodpeckers pulling nestling bluebirds out of nest boxes to feed to their own young.

Winter blues

Q: How common is it for bluebirds to winter over in Minnesota? I've had five or six of them in my backyard lately. Do they use birdhouses to get out of the wind and cold?

A: Turns out that more and more bluebirds can be found in Minnesota in the wintertime, and experts say that global warming is helping them survive. Even though we still have cold snaps, nights are warming up: Lows are on average 12 degrees warmer now than in the 1970s. Bluebirds are surviving by eating the fruit remaining on bushes and trees and finding water in seeps and springs. Thrushes are hardy birds, their larger cousin, the robin, is exhibiting the same kind of stick-around behavior. Bluebirds often do hole up in a nest box, and there are reports of multiple bluebirds stacking up inside a box on very cold nights.

Eagles on camera

Q: Could you print that eagle web cam address again? I'll bet people will appreciate it.

A: For hours of fun watching these big raptors on their nest in St. Paul, visit dnr.state.mn.us/features/webcams/eaglecam. And please consider a donation to support the Minnesota DNR Nongame Wildlife Program, which keeps the cameras running (check their other web cams as well, such as the peregrine falcon nest cam). You can donate online or on your state income tax form.

St. Paul resident Val Cunningham, who volunteers with the St. Paul Audubon Society and writes about nature for local, regional and national newspapers and magazines, can be reached at valwrites@comcast.net.