How to attract great-tailed grackles to your yard
Great-tailed Grackles respond to four things: the right food, the right plants, water and safe nesting cover. Here is what each means for this particular bird, drawn from its range across 14 states and provinces.
First: is it in your area, and when?
You can only attract a bird that passes through or lives near you, so start with timing. The Great-tailed Grackle is a year-round resident in 14 states and provinces, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas and 8 more — there, a yard can host it in every season.
Plant what great-tailed grackles use
These native plants are tied to the Great-tailed Grackle in our regional plant lists (Audubon Native Plants and state sources). The count shows how many states or provinces list the plant for this bird — higher means it works across more of the range. Pick the ones native where you live.
| Plant | Type | States | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa | Perennial | 11 | Tubular flowers for hummingbirds and seed heads for finches. |
| American elderberry Sambucus canadensis | Shrub | 10 | Late-summer berry clusters taken by over 40 bird species. |
| Black cherry Prunus serotina | Tree | 10 | Summer fruit and one of the top caterpillar host trees. |
| Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa | Tree | 8 | Drought-hardy prairie oak with large acorns and a heavy insect load. |
| Serviceberry Amelanchier arborea | Tree | 8 | Early-summer berries arrive exactly when nestlings are being fed. |
| White oak Quercus alba | Tree | 8 | Acorns plus hundreds of caterpillar species for nestling food. |
| Flowering dogwood Cornus florida | Tree | 7 | Fat-rich red fall fruit taken by thrushes, bluebirds and woodpeckers. |
| Chokecherry Prunus virginiana | Shrub | 6 | Dark summer fruit and heavy caterpillar load. |
| Common sunflower Helianthus annuus | Perennial | 6 | Annual native sunflower — the original feeder seed. |
| Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium | Perennial | 6 | Native bunchgrass; winter seed and ground cover for sparrows and juncos. |
Your list covers 3 plant layers (perennial, shrub, tree). Layering matters: mixing perennial, shrub, tree gives great-tailed grackles food, perches and cover at different heights. Leave seed heads and fruit standing into winter instead of cutting back in fall.
Offer the food it actually eats
Omnivore — insects, grain, fruit, scraps and eggs.
- Warm months
- Grasshoppers, beetles, lizards and tadpoles
- Cold months
- Grain, fruit and scraps
- At feeders
- Cracked corn, Mixed seed
Feeder style matters as much as food: platform / tray feeder is the first choice for this bird. Expanding north fast. Huge roosts gather in parking-lot trees; a cage feeder keeps them off small-bird seed. Feeder guide →
Give it a place to nest
Natural site: Bulky cup in trees or reeds, in noisy colonies.
It does not use nest boxes, so the way to host a nest is cover: keep dense native shrubs, vines or trees of the kind listed above, and avoid pruning them during the nesting season.
- Clutch
- 1–5 eggs
- Incubation
- 13–14 days
- Nestling period
- 20–23 days
- Broods per year
- 1–2 per season
Timing shifts with latitude: nesting begins around February in Arizona but not until March in Utah. Don't trim shrubs or clean boxes during those months.
Water, safety and patience
- A shallow bath (1–2 in deep) with a rough bottom, refreshed every 2–3 days; a dripper or heater makes it far more attractive in summer heat and winter freeze.
- Place feeders within 3 ft of windows or more than 30 ft away to cut window strikes, and keep cats indoors.
- Skip pesticides — most backyard birds feed insects to their nestlings, even seed-eaters.
- Give it time. New feeders and plantings can take days to weeks to be found; residents usually find a stocked yard first.
Frequently asked
What attracts great-tailed grackles to a yard?
Food they actually eat (cracked corn, mixed seed), native plants such as Wild bergamot, American elderberry, Black cherry, clean water and suitable nesting cover: bulky cup in trees or reeds, in noisy colonies.
What plants attract great-tailed grackles?
Across the Great-tailed Grackle's range, the native plants most often tied to it are Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), Black cherry (Prunus serotina), Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea). Choose the ones native to your state.
When should I set up my yard for nesting great-tailed grackles?
Nesting starts around February in Arizona and as late as March in Utah. Have cover, water ready a month before.
Sources
- Great-tailed Grackle — All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Great-tailed Grackle life history — Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Great-tailed Grackle — Audubon Guide to North American Birds
- Audubon Native Plants Database
Timing reflects typical patterns for the region as a whole; local dates vary with elevation and year. Check the linked eBird bar charts for your county.