Cardinals are popular visitors to state park throughout year
Bird's Eye View by Terri Gorney Lehman Photos by Kevin Butts
As other birds migrate south for the winter, one of the birds that will spend the entire year at Ouabache State Park is the Northern Cardinal.
The Northern Cardinal became the Indiana state bird in 1933. However, it is not native to Indiana. It is native to Virginia and the Carolinas. They migrated to the state over time.
Cardinals are more numerous today than they were 100 years ago in the Hoosier State.
Gene Stratton-Porter’s first book in 1903 was “The Song of the Cardinal.’ She might have chosen to write a novel on this bird because it was not a common bird at that time. The novel was set in Rainbow Bottom along the Wabash River about a 30-minute drive southeast of the state park. Gene thought the bird call sounded like “good cheer, good cheer.”
In 1919, Maurice McClue of Angola wrote in his nature journal that he was excited to see a cardinal in its winter plumage. Today, we know that he saw a female cardinal as we know that cardinals do not change plumage from summer to winter. The male is a bright red, and the female is a gray with some red.
Friends of Ouabache and the state park host the Indiana Master Naturalist and Indiana Master Naturalist Junior programs. The logo for IMN and IMN Junior features a cardinal on it.
Every year, the annual SANJO (Southern Adams Northern Jay Ouabache) Christmas Bird Count always has a number of cardinals tallied on it. Males are definitely the brightest bird on the count and easy to identify.
Hopefully, you will get to see and hear a cardinal on your next visit to the park. Look at the tops of the trees for a red bird with a colorful song.
Good cheer, and good birding!
Terri Gorney Lehman is known throughout the local birding community for her enthusiasm and support of fellow birders. She is an Advanced Indiana Master Naturalist, member Friends of Ouabache, Friends of the Limberlost, and Stockbridge Audubon Society.
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