In spring, summer, and fall, foods eaten by cardinals include seeds, fruits, and insects. Insects are a great form of protein to help create the energy needed to raise young people and maintain their own health. Fruits and nuts of over 100 types on the menu. The list contains seeds from many plants, as well as grapes, blueberries, blackberries, hackberries and more. Plant material is also consumed.

In the spring, a male cardinal may place a food source at a female’s feet. If she takes the food, it is a sign of her acceptance of him as a partner, part of the courtship ritual. Other factors in choosing a woman are coloring and signature abilities. When it comes to coloring, the darker markings on the male’s face seem to help him decide. Selecting the Nest site is the next step on the to-do list.

A nest could be in shrubs, trees, or vines, and the nest itself will be made up of twigs, leaves, grasses, pine needles, and stems. Four layers go into building the nest starting with larger twigs, then softer leaves, followed by a layer of pieces of tree bark. The final fourth layer has soft leaves and pine needles. Up to five eggs will be laid in each of the two nests for the year. With so many young fledging from nests all over North America, it’s no wonder this species is of least concern in terms of population status. Nesting duties are shared by the birds of both parents.

Once a nesting site has been established, the Cardinals defend their territory from any real or perceived intruders. The real bird competition will be fought and defeated. Imaginary adversaries can be the reflection of the cardinal in a mirror or a clean windowpane. Even reflections from car bumpers can distract a male cardinal from fighting an enemy who is not real.

This winter, enjoy bright red cardinals all season long. They enthusiastically take the winter weather and do quite well.

The conservation and history lesson is my next topic, sure to be short, but the highlights help set the stage for where we are today. The colonization of North America by people living off the land as best they could involved choices of luck. Surviving was at the top of the list. So if by any chance a pioneer family saw a wild turkey, the old reliable musket would come out to shoot the big bird. At the time, little thought was given to the concepts of specific hunting seasons or bag limits. These ideas had to wait at least 150 years to become acceptable.

A wild turkey had a fair amount of meat on its bones. Thus, several meals could be prepared from his drumsticks and his large breast. Likewise, a pioneer family would take other wild game and fish if the occasion permitted. These supplements were in addition to any garden or crop that could be grown in season. Life was not easy back then. The result of the unregulated harvest of game birds or wild mammals has finally left discerning observers wondering how to manage and maintain breeding populations.

It was noted that at the turn of the century in 1900, a lot of game was starting to be difficult to find. A few of the observers were also active hunters, such as Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, George Bird Grinnell and others. They formed the Boone & Crockett Club and used their statute to help formulate what we now know as the North American model of wildlife conservation. The list of advances included the Lacey Bill by Iowa Congressman John F. Lacey, written in 1900, which prohibited the transport of illegally captured game across state lines.

From 1901 to 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt protected over 230 million acres of American land and water. In 1911, Massachusetts Congressman John Weeks was embroiled in legislation allowing the purchase of land east of the Mississippi River for National Forests.

In 1914, the decline in the number of carrier pigeons over the past 50 years taught people not to take wildlife for granted, and 1916 was the year of the Migratory Birds Treaty between Canada and the United States. and Mexico. This law prohibited the collection of eggs and nests – a hobby derived from Europe and England – in addition to starting to regulate hunting.

Then, in 1933, Aldo Leopold wrote the book, The First Scientific Ideals of “Game Management”. Its principles were the basis of balancing the needs of wildlife and habitat and using regulated hunting as a single tool to help maintain dynamic population numbers. Later in 1937, to help fund management work, sportsmen signed on to the idea of ​​a 10 percent excise tax on sports weapons and ammunition. It was and still is known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, whereby states could match each state one dollar of license fees with three dollars of public relations funds.

Now the stage was set for the North American model of wildlife conservation to shine widely in every natural resource department across the state. There are seven main points in this document.

They are: 1. Natural resources on public lands are managed by government agencies to ensure a place for wildlife and wild places that people could use. 2. Since all wildlife is owned by the state, it is illegal in North America to sell the meat of any wildlife. It authorized a chosen method for the legal sale of the antlers, horns, skins, skulls, teeth and fur of furbearing animals. 3. Every citizen has the right to help create laws to conserve and manage wildlife and its habitats. 4. Every citizen has the possibility, under the law, to hunt and fish. 5. Legal harvesting of wild animals under strict guidelines for food and fur, self-defense and protection of property is permitted. 6. Wildlife migrates freely across borders, provinces and states. In last and seventh place, science helps to make good decisions, so that everyone becomes a better steward of wildlife.

Going back to the example of the wild turkey, from a low point of around 30,000 birds at the start of colonization, the population now exceeds seven million! This has happened through wildlife management, regulated hunting and habitat protection. Funding for wild turkey activities alone generates approximately $ 2 billion in the North American economy each year. All miscellaneous supplies, arms and ammunition, transportation, gasoline and groceries employ one million people in hunting-related jobs. The hunt enjoys an 80 percent approval rating from the general public as long as the meat of wild game is carefully and respectfully used and taken in a fair hunt.

Thank you for taking the time to learn these bits of history together.

We all have a signature. We all leave a signature in the landscape. Fauna leaves its signature in the form of traces left by webbed feet, clawed toes, hoof prints or flapping wings in the snow. As for Man, it is our “signatures” that we lend to habitat projects in wetlands, forests and meadows which have lasting benefits. This is where our work and our financial contributions collectively make a difference. Every good cause dedicated to wildlife conservation plays a role. Our rich outdoor heritage should not be taken for granted.

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Garry Brandenburg is the retired director of the Marshall County Conservation Board. He graduated from Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in fish and wildlife biology.