Feeding winter birds in California

Have you been thinking of setting up a winter bird feeding station? Do you live in California? Then this article is for you!

This article is all about why and how to set up winter bird feeders in California and what birds you can expect to attract.

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In this article
Why feed winter birds in California?
What birds come to feeders in winter in California?
Setting up a winter bird feeding station in California
Related articles

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Why feed winter birds in California?

Winters in much of California are quite mild, even warm compared to much of the country. Do the birds need you to feed them in order to survive the winter? Probably not. Still, there are many benefits to feeding birds.

Birds need our help. Throughout the world bird populations are plummeting. Thus, we need to help them however we can. One way to help birds is to create bird-friendly yards, by landscaping and providing shelter and food to birds.

Young birds in their first year have a high mortality rate. These inexperienced birds fall victim to predators. They sometimes have trouble finding food in winter. Thus, a backyard bird feeder can provide extra food to help these birds survive, when they might not otherwise do so.

Food in late winter can be hard to find. Seeds and fruit have nearly all been eaten. Insects are in very short supply. You can help birds survive the end of winter until new food sources arrive in spring. 

The colder weather means that birds need extra calories in winter. You can provide that with a bird feeder.

The joy of feeding birds is good for your mental health. Just watching birds come and go about their normal daily activities at your feeder can calm the soul. They chirp and flutter, squabble and argue. Somehow that's good for us to watch!

Feeding birds gives us awareness and appreciation of the natural world. That bond to wildness and nature helps us look outside ourselves. It gives us peace of mind. Noticing birds helps us notice other wild things. This appreciation and gratitude leads to happiness. And we can all use more of that!

What birds come to feeders in winter in California?

Because of its mild climate, California has many resident birds that visit your backyard year-round. Additionally, many birds that summer in the north migrate south to California for the winter.

I've previously written an article on the most common backyard birds in California. That article also discusses identification. So if you are still learning how to tell one bird from another, then you should check out that article after you finish here.

Here, then are a few of the beautiful and interesting birds you can attract to your winter feeder in California. For each I'll describe a little about them. Then I'll tell you what to feed each of these birds to attract them to your yard in winter.

House Finch
Photo by Greg Gillson

House Finch: 

This species is found in rural areas of the West and in residential areas throughout the United States. They are found in all of California except the high mountains. They are found in flocks.

They have a cheerful song and give constant chirping calls.

Both genders are striped with gray brown. The males have reddish-orange foreheads, breasts, and rumps.

House Finches love black oil sunflower seeds from a tube feeder or hopper feeder. They also eat Niger seeds from a finch feeder or thistle sock.

Lesser Goldfinch
Photo by Greg Gillson

Lesser Goldfinch: 

In the drier areas of the West these tiny finches replace American Goldfinches. They are found in all of California except high mountains. They frequent weedy fields and backyards. They are usually found in small flocks.

They have both harsh and mournful calls. Summer songs by the male are prolonged and lilting.

Males are brighter than females, with a black crown. They maintain their bright plumage throughout the year.

Lesser Goldfinches are especially attracted to Niger seed from a finch feeder or thistle sock. They also like hulled sunflower seeds from a tube feeder or hopper feeder.

White-crowned Sparrow
Photo by Greg Gillson

White-crowned Sparrow: 

These birds breed along the coast and in the high mountains of California. Birds from the far North spend the winters in chaparral, deserts, woodlands, and residential areas in California. 

They are frequently found in brush piles and woody backyard shrubs.

They sing songs with sweet and cheer notes and trills in summer, but also in winter and migration. Gives a slightly metallic pink note. They have slightly different song dialects in different regions of North America.

The crown stripes of immature birds are brown and cream for the first year of life.

White-crowned Sparrows will eat black oil sunflower seeds or mixed seeds from a platform or hopper feeder.

Song Sparrow
Photo by Greg Gillson

Song Sparrow: 

This is a common wetland bird across North America that also hides out in backyards with large bushes and hedges. In California it is found throughout.

It forages and hops on the ground where its heavy dark brown streaking provides camouflage in the shadows.

It has a a trilled song that starts with two burry notes and a buzz. Its call sounds like chimp.

Song Sparrows will eat mixed seeds and black oil sunflower seeds from a hopper or platform feeder.

Dark-eyed Junco
Photo by Greg Gillson

Dark-eyed Junco: 

Breeds in mountains of eastern and western United States and across Canada. Winters throughout the United States. This tiny little sparrow lives in damp conifer forests along the coast and in the mountains of California. Northern birds migrate to California in the winter to all areas, including backyards in the lowlands.

It flashes its white outer tail feathers and gives twittering and smacking calls as it feeds in flocks on the ground. The spring song is a prolonged musical trill on one pitch.

This species is varied regionally. All variation types occur in California in the winter. The summer breeding birds are of the Oregon Junco variety, with brown back and black (male) or gray (female) hood.

Dark-eyed Juncos prefer the smaller seeds found in mixed bird seed. They will come to a platform feeder or hopper feeder.

California Towhee
Photo by Greg Gillson

California Towhee: 

This very large sparrow is native to the chaparral habitats of California and Baja. It is not found in the highest mountains or deserts. While other chaparral species have been pushed farther into the wilderness by urban sprawl, California Towhees have adapted to residential life. 

They are found in all backyards in northern California oak woodlands to southern California. 

Their common call is a loud metallic pink note, like two metal pipes being struck together. Their song is a fast trill of these same notes.

These birds are brown throughout. The under tail has a warm cinnamon coloration.

California Towhees will eat black oil sunflower seeds and mixed seeds from a platform feeder.

California Scrub-Jay
Photo by Greg Gillson

California Scrub-Jay: 

This bold, noisy, jay is common in residential backyards along the West Coast. 

In California it is native in oak-chaparral away from dense conifer forests and high mountains.

One common call is a single hoarse rising shreeink call. A similar call is a fast repeated hoarse shrink, shrink, shrink.

It has a round blue head with an incomplete necklace of blue onto the breast. The wings and tail are also blue. The face is black. The back is gray. The under parts are white or pale gray.

Because they may gobble up a lot of sunflower seeds at once, and sometimes beat up on smaller birds, they are not welcome by everyone at the feeder.

California Scrub-Jays will eat fruit, sunflower seeds, and suet from platform or hopper feeders.

Mourning Dove
Greg Gillson

Mourning Dove: 

Widespread across the United States. In California these larger feeder birds are found in woodland edges and stream sides. They are common in rural and residential settings.

Their cooing song sounds like sad crying, boo-hoo, boo-hoo-hoo.

They often feed on the ground under the feeder, or on larger feeders. You may see them perched on wires above the road or on the peak of a roof.

They are pale brown with a pinkish hue on the breast. They have some black spots on the wing coverts. The head is small. The tail is long and pointed.

Mourning Doves eat cracked corn, sunflower seeds, and mixed seeds from platform feeders.

Nuttall's Woodpecker
Photo by Greg Gillson

Nuttall's Woodpecker: 

This bird is nearly restricted to California. It is common in live oak woodlands throughout the state. 

It avoids dense conifers in the north coast region and mountains. It is not found in the deserts. It visits backyards with oak or sycamore trees or conifers.

It is rather noisy, giving sharp pitick calls and similar longer rattles.

It is patterned with black and white like many woodpeckers, but the back is completely barred across with alternating black and white bars.

Nuttall's Woodpeckers will eat suet from a special suet feeder or cage. They may also eat fruit.

Anna's Hummingbird
Photo by Greg Gillson

Anna's Hummingbird: 

One of 3 resident hummingbird species in California, joining 3 other migrant species, this bird is common in residential areas the length of the state.

They are large and fairly noisy. They give high sharp stit notes, chatter a bit when chasing other hummingbirds. The males give a prolonged squeaky and scratchy "song" in winter and spring from an exposed perch.

They are green above and gray and green across the underparts. The male's whole head and throat is iridescent pinkish-ruby. The female usually has a spot of pink on the central throat.

Anna's Hummingbirds drink nectar from hummingbird feeders.

Setting up a winter bird feeding station in California

To get you started, I suggest buying two feeders. The first is a tube feeder for black oil sunflower seeds to attract the finches. The second feeder should be a hopper feeder with mixed seed (avoid milo!). Check out the bird seed article below.

Of course, if you want, you may add a suet feeder, offer various fruit, add a Niger seed feeder, and a hummingbird feeder! In the "related articles" below I describe more about the feeders and foods that are best to attract birds. Don't forget to look at my article on my recommended bird feeder setup.

Set up your feeders in October or November to get the best response. Northern sparrows will have reached California by then. In late fall and early winter birds are moving around looking for a reliable supply of winter food. 

By the end of December all birds are pretty much settled in for the winter. If you wait until then to set up your feeders you may have a harder time attracting birds. Birds will remain in their local wintering area until they migrate back north in March or April.

Don't forget water. You can purchase a bird bath or place out a simple saucer with water. It's often quite dry in California in fall and early winter. Birds appreciate drinking and bathing water, summer and winter.

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These related articles should answer your questions on setting up a bird feeder and get you started viewing and identifying your backyard birds: 

The most common backyard birds in California

Red, Orange & Yellow Birds in California

My recommended bird feeder setup

Bird seeds that attract the most birds

Different kinds of bird feeders for different birds

Bird baths that birds actually use

Binoculars for beginning bird watchers

Bird watching books for beginners

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