Country Ecology: Northern cardinal and burning bush

Looking out the window adjacent to my office, I frequently see my resident cardinal pair in the Euonymus bush just beyond the glass panes. This oriental shrub, commonly called "burning bush," became a marvelous foundation planting and feeds the birds. But, because of that fact, it is now banned from being sold in New Hampshire, because the red drupes get carried beyond the domicile location and come up elsewhere. It is deemed a pest species beyond our state's domain, but I think its existence has been very long in New Hampshire. It was planted around old New England homes; see its fiery pink foliage as you drive around, witnessing the end of foliage season.

Cardinals are very popular backyard birds, and it's our shrubbery like this that gets them by. These colorful birds used to be found only in the Deep South, as they thrived in plantation settings there. Our landscaping up here benefits them, making them a species of village or New England town's more than deep woods. I like to say "out-of-control" landscaping — that has grown up way too much for our liking--is what most helps them out the most. Seeds and fruits are produced in these hedgerows along the edge of property lines, and this is also where the cardinal pair likes to nest.