Who's at my feeder?

Backyard birds by state

Backyard birds of Colorado

The birds that visit feeders in Colorado, when they come and what they eat – counted from 18.6 million bird sightings reported across Colorado from 2019 to 2024.

  • 28year-round residents
  • 1winter visitors
  • 14summer visitors
House Finch – the most common of the backyard birds in Colorado
Photo MostlyDross / iNaturalist, CC BY

All year

Year-round backyard birds in Colorado

These birds are reported in every season. Most of them will use a seed or suet feeder in any month.

  1. House Finch, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    House Finch

    Everyday visitor · most common in February

    Eats: black oil sunflower, nyjer

    Photo: MostlyDross / iNaturalist, CC BY

  2. Northern Flicker, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Northern Flicker

    Everyday visitor · most common in October

    Eats: suet, peanuts

    Photo: iNaturalist, CC0

  3. American Robin, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    American Robin

    Everyday visitor · most common in June

    Eats: fruit, mealworms

    Photo: Judy Gallagher / iNaturalist, CC BY

  4. Black-capped Chickadee, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Black-capped Chickadee

    Everyday visitor · most common in February

    Eats: sunflower hearts, suet

    Photo: Blake Ross / iNaturalist, CC BY

  5. Red-winged Blackbird, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Red-winged Blackbird

    Everyday visitor · most common in March

    Eats: sunflower, cracked corn

    Photo: Matt Felperin / iNaturalist, CC BY

  6. Dark-eyed Junco, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Dark-eyed Junco

    Everyday visitor · most common in February

    Eats: millet, sunflower hearts

    Photo: Becky Matsubara / iNaturalist, CC BY

  7. European Starling, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    European Starling

    Everyday visitor · most common in February

    Eats: suet, mealworms

    Photo: Timothy Lindsey / iNaturalist, CC BY

  8. Blue Jay, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Blue Jay

    Everyday visitor · most common in October

    Eats: peanuts, sunflower, corn

    Photo: Judy Gallagher / iNaturalist, CC BY

  9. Eurasian Collared-Dove, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Eurasian Collared-Dove

    Regular visitor · most common in February

    Eats: millet, cracked corn

    Photo: Radu Teodoreanu / iNaturalist, CC BY

  10. Song Sparrow, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Song Sparrow

    Regular visitor · most common in December

    Eats: millet, sunflower hearts

    Photo: iNaturalist, CC0

  11. American Goldfinch, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    American Goldfinch

    Regular visitor · most common in August

    Eats: nyjer, sunflower hearts

    Photo: lwolfartist / iNaturalist, CC BY

  12. White-breasted Nuthatch, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    White-breasted Nuthatch

    Regular visitor · most common in December

    Eats: sunflower, suet, peanuts

    Photo: Judy Gallagher / iNaturalist, CC BY

Nov – Mar

Winter birds of Colorado

They arrive from the north in autumn and leave again in spring. Millet and sunflower hearts on a tray or on the ground bring most of them in.

  1. American Tree Sparrow, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    American Tree Sparrow

    Occasional visitor · most common in November

    Eats: millet, sunflower hearts

    Photo: Mary Krieger / iNaturalist, CC BY

Apr – Oct

Summer visitors

These birds spend spring and summer in Colorado and winter further south.

  1. Mourning Dove, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Mourning Dove

    Everyday visitor · most common in August

    Eats: millet, cracked corn, sunflower

    Photo: Timothy Lindsey / iNaturalist, CC BY

  2. Broad-tailed Hummingbird, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Broad-tailed Hummingbird

    Everyday visitor · most common in July

    Eats: nectar

    Photo: Matt Felperin / iNaturalist, CC BY

  3. Common Grackle, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Common Grackle

    Regular visitor · most common in May

    Eats: cracked corn, sunflower

    Photo: Shaun Coleman / iNaturalist, CC BY

  4. Yellow-rumped Warbler, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Yellow-rumped Warbler

    Regular visitor · most common in May

    Eats: suet, mealworms

    Photo: Willem Span / iNaturalist, CC BY

  5. Lesser Goldfinch, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Lesser Goldfinch

    Regular visitor · most common in August

    Eats: nyjer, sunflower hearts

    Photo: iNaturalist, CC0

  6. Chipping Sparrow, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Chipping Sparrow

    Regular visitor · most common in September

    Eats: millet, sunflower hearts

    Photo: iNaturalist, CC0

  7. Brown-headed Cowbird, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Brown-headed Cowbird

    Regular visitor · most common in May

    Eats: millet, cracked corn

    Photo: cello caruso-turiello / iNaturalist, CC BY

  8. Bullock's Oriole, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Bullock's Oriole

    Regular visitor · most common in May

    Eats: sugar water, fruit, grape jelly

    Photo: Millie Basden / iNaturalist, CC BY

Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers in Colorado

3 woodpecker species are reported regularly in Colorado. Northern Flicker and Downy Woodpecker are the ones most often seen. All of them come for suet – a suet cage with a tail-prop panel also works for the larger species.

Which suet to use and when →

  1. Northern Flicker3.0%
  2. Downy Woodpecker1.2%
  3. Hairy Woodpecker0.5%
  1. Northern Flicker, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Northern Flicker

    Everyday visitor · most common in October

    Eats: suet, peanuts

    Photo: iNaturalist, CC0

  2. Downy Woodpecker, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Downy Woodpecker

    Regular visitor · most common in February

    Eats: suet, peanuts

    Photo: iNaturalist, CC0

  3. Hairy Woodpecker, one of the backyard birds that visit feeders

    Hairy Woodpecker

    Occasional visitor · most common in February

    Eats: suet, peanuts, sunflower

    Photo: Blake Ross / iNaturalist, CC BY

Hummingbirds

When hummingbirds arrive and leave Colorado

The broad-tailed hummingbird is the main hummingbird in Colorado. Sightings start in April, peak in July and fade out in September.

Put a nectar feeder out by mid-April so the first arrivals find it, and keep it up until two weeks after you see the last bird – late migrants from further north still pass through.

Also reported: black-chinned hummingbird.

Nectar: one part white sugar to four parts water, no red dye. Hummingbird feeders compared →

Broad-tailed Hummingbird sightings per month in Colorado, darkest in the peak month.

Identification

Red birds in Colorado

House Finch – males have a red head, breast and rump over brown streaks; common at seed feeders all year.
Cassin's Finch – a mountain finch of the West; the male has a bright red crown that stands out from the pinker body.

Bird calendar

The year at the feeder in Colorado

One row per bird, darkest in its strongest month.

BirdJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
House Finch
Northern Flicker
American Robin
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-winged Blackbird
Dark-eyed Junco
European Starling
Blue Jay
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Song Sparrow
Mourning Dove
American Goldfinch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Spotted Towhee
Downy Woodpecker
House Sparrow
Mountain Chickadee
White-crowned Sparrow

Want the list for your own garden? Enter your ZIP code – the birds within 30 km, month by month.

Questions

Backyard birds in Colorado: questions

What is the most common backyard bird in Colorado?

The house finch. It makes up about 3.2% of all bird sightings reported in Colorado, and it stays all year.

What birds are in Colorado in winter?

Besides year-round residents such as the house finch, northern flicker, American robin, winter brings American tree sparrow.

What woodpeckers live in Colorado?

3 species are reported regularly: northern flicker, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker.

When do hummingbirds leave Colorado?

Broad-tailed Hummingbird sightings fade out in September. They arrive in April. Keep your feeder up for about two weeks after the last visit.

More states

Backyard birds in other states