Who’s Coming to Your Backyard This Winter?

Cool Bird Alert! Entice Wintering Hummingbirds, Orioles, Tanagers, Gold Finch, Buntings, Sparrows and Kinglets with the right foods. The secret to success is consistently having the foods they want available and ready BEFORE they start arriving for their winter stay or as they travel through to their winter residences!

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are most easily attracted with nectar feeders. Keep feeders ready during migration and throughout the year, as hummingbirds often remember reliable food sources and return to the same spots.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds: Our most common hummingbird, Ruby-throats arrive in greater numbers in March and remain through September, although some can be found here year-round. Having feeders ready when they arrive encourages them to make your yard a regular stop.

Winter Hummingbirds: From November through February, Tallahassee may host Rufous, Black-chinned and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, along with occasional visits from species such as Buff-bellied, Allen’s, Broad-billed, Anna’s, Costa’s and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds.

Place multiple feeders around your yard to prevent one hummingbird from monopolizing the food source. Red-colored feeders can also help attract their attention, as hummingbirds naturally associate red with nectar-rich flowers.

Orioles

Tallahassee is fortunate to host Baltimore Orioles from September through April. We have a healthy and growing population of wintering Baltimore Orioles at the feeding station right behind the store!

Orioles eat nectar, fruit and insects and can be attracted with nectar, grape jelly, orange slices, mealworms and Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter®. Often hidden high in the trees, they may become regular visitors once they discover a reliable food source and, with time, become less shy.

Other Orioles: Orchard Orioles are occasional visitors, generally from April through September, while Bullock’s Orioles make rare winter appearances.

Tanagers

Tanager sightings are on the rise in Tallahassee, with growing numbers of Summer Tanagers seen year-round. Males are bright red, while females range from yellow to orange.

Western Tanagers are occasional winter visitors, typically from November through April. Males are bright yellow with a dark back and reddish face, while females are more subdued gray with hints of yellow. Scarlet Tanagers pass through during spring and fall migration, usually in April and again from September through October.

Like orioles, tanagers often stay high in the trees but can be tempted closer with suet, Bark Butter, fruit and grape jelly. We regularly see them visiting the jelly feeders behind the store.

 

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinches begin arriving in the Tallahassee area around November and typically remain through April. Although they may arrive early, they often don’t visit feeders in large numbers until January, after they have depleted the abundant seeds found in Sweetgum trees.

During their winter stay, Goldfinches wear their more subdued olive-yellow plumage. As spring approaches, males begin transitioning into their brilliant yellow breeding plumage. Goldfinches molt twice a year, replacing their feathers in late winter and late summer.

Want to attract Goldfinches? Try our Finch Blend, finches’ favorite! It combines Nyjer® and fine sunflower chips and is a favorite of Goldfinches, But also preferred by House Finches, Purple Finches and Pine Siskins.

Painted Buntings

Painted Buntings are winter visitors to Tallahassee, typically arriving in October and remaining through April. Males are especially striking with their bright blue, green and red plumage, while females are a beautiful soft green. They primarily eat seeds, especially white millet, and will also eat insects.

Painted Buntings prefer feeding stations where they can feed comfortably without competition from larger birds. Small-bird or caged feeders filled with white millet are excellent choices. They are also attracted to birdbaths, particularly those with moving water.

Indigo Buntings can be found in our area year-round, with larger numbers typically seen from April through November. They also eat seeds and insects and may visit a variety of seed feeders.

Chipping Sparrows

Chipping Sparrows are winter visitors to Tallahassee, typically arriving in November and remaining through mid-April, as do most other varieties of Sparrows. Chipping Sparrows are easy to recognize by their bright rufous cap, black eyeline and clean gray underparts.

Chipping Sparrows primarily eat seeds, especially millet, and readily feed on the ground or from platform feeders. Winter is a great time to switch from No-Mess No Millet Seed Blend to No-Mess DP Seed Blend, which contains hulled millet and is especially appealing to these winter visitors.

 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are winter visitors to Tallahassee, typically arriving in October and remaining through April. These tiny, energetic songbirds are easy to overlook as they constantly flit through trees and shrubs searching for food. Males have a brilliant red crown, but it is usually hidden and only revealed when they are excited.

Golden-crowned Kinglets also winter in our area during the same period, although in smaller numbers. They can be identified by their distinctive yellow crown bordered by black.

Kinglets primarily feed on small insects and spiders, but they also eat fruit and seeds, especially during the winter months. Offer No-Mess Plus Blend or Choice Plus Blend to provide food they may readily find at your feeders.

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Phoebes are familiar winter visitors to the Tallahassee area, with healthy populations typically seen from October through April. These plain gray-brown songbirds are often spotted perched on fences, branches or other low vantage points, watching for insects.

Phoebes are insect eaters and frequently catch insects in midair, making them helpful visitors in the yard. They are also known for their distinctive “fee-bee” call, which sounds remarkably like their name. An interesting bit of birding history: the Eastern Phoebe was the first bird ever banded in North America, in 1803 by John James Audubon.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warblers are abundant winter visitors to the Tallahassee area, typically arriving in October and remaining through March. Nicknamed “Butter-butts” for the bright yellow patch on their rump, they are one of the few warblers able to digest the waxy coatings of certain berries.

This ability allows them to rely on berries such as wax myrtle and juniper when insects are less plentiful, making them especially well adapted to winter in Florida. They also forage for insects among trees and shrubs.

When temperatures drop, Yellow-rumped Warblers may visit feeders for Jim’s Birdacious® Bark Butter®, giving you a great opportunity to see these active little warblers up close.

 

Cedar Waxwings

Cedar Waxwings are striking, social winter visitors to the Tallahassee area, typically arriving in November and remaining through April. They travel in large, nomadic flocks and are easily recognized by their silky tan plumage, sleek crest, black mask and bright red, wax-like wing tips.

Unlike many backyard birds, Cedar Waxwings are primarily fruit eaters. They swallow berries whole and seek out sugar-rich fruits such as dogwood, wild cherries, juniper and other native berries. Planting fruit-producing trees and shrubs that provide winter food is one of the best ways to attract them. They are also strongly attracted to water, especially moving water, so a birdbath with a dripper, bubbler or fountain can make your yard even more appealing.

An unusual trait of Cedar Waxwings is their tolerance for fermented fruit. Overripe berries can naturally ferment and produce alcohol, and waxwings sometimes eat enough of these berries to become temporarily intoxicated. Fortunately, they are generally quite social, so you may see an entire flock enjoying the same berry buffet!

American Robin

American Robins are familiar year-round birds in much of North America, but Florida’s winter visitors can behave quite differently. From November through March, robins gather in large, nomadic flocks that can number in the thousands, moving across the landscape in search of abundant fruit and berries.

During winter, they spend less time hunting for worms on lawns and more time feasting on fruit from trees and shrubs, including holly and palm berries. Robins frequently travel and feed alongside Cedar Waxwings, forming impressive mixed-species flocks as they move from one fruiting tree to the next.

Providing native fruit-producing trees and shrubs can help bring these winter visitors to your yard. And when you see a tree suddenly filled with hundreds of robins and waxwings, you’ve likely found a winter fruit buffet!