Backyard birds in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Which birds visit St. John's yards, when they nest at this latitude, and when to be out for the dawn chorus, all worked out from St. John's's own coordinates.
- Coordinates
- 47.565°, -52.709°
- Population
- 110,525
- June 21 daylight
- 15 h 59 min
- December 21 daylight
- 8 h 26 min
- Sunrise mid-April / late June
- 6:13 AM / 5:02 AM
- Nesting vs state average
- about the same time as the state-wide average
- Hardiness zones (state)
- Canada 0a–6b
Nesting timing in St. John's
The state guides give nesting windows for Newfoundland and Labrador as a whole, weighted toward where most people live (about 47.7°N). St. John's is at 47.6°N. Going by Hopkins' bioclimatic law, spring events move about four days per degree of latitude, so breeding here starts about the same time as the state-wide average. Elevation and nearby water also play a part.
Daylight triggers breeding. St. John's goes from 8 h 26 min of daylight at the winter solstice to 15 h 59 min in June, a 7 h 33 min swing.
- Black-capped Chickadee — state window May–July; box hole 1 1/8 in round
- Downy Woodpecker — state window May–June; box hole 1 1/4 in round
- Hairy Woodpecker — state window May–June; box hole 1 1/2 in round
- American Goldfinch — state window August–September
- Purple Finch — state window June–July
- American Robin — state window May–July
- Dark-eyed Junco — state window June–July
- White-throated Sparrow — state window June–July
- Song Sparrow — state window May–August
- Chipping Sparrow — state window May–July
Birds you can expect in St. John's
Year-round residents (26)
Black-capped Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Purple Finchs, Pileated Woodpeckers, Red-breasted Nuthatchs, Brown Creepers, Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, House Sparrows, European Starlings, Canada Jays, Common Ravens, Barred Owls, Great Horned Owls, Mallards, Belted Kingfishers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Pine Grosbeaks, Red Crossbills, Bald Eagles, Northern Saw-whet Owls, Black-backed Woodpeckers, American Three-toed Woodpeckers, White-winged Crossbills, Rock Pigeons
Summer breeders (59)
American Goldfinchs, American Robins, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Northern Flickers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, Gray Catbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, Eastern Phoebes, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Eastern Kingbirds, White-crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Great Blue Herons, Scarlet Tanagers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrushs, Winter Wrens, Gray Catbirds, Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, American Redstarts, Black-and-white Warblers, Ovenbirds, Orange-crowned Warblers, Palm Warblers, Red-eyed Vireos, Warbling Vireos, Eastern Wood-Pewees, Least Flycatchers, Cliff Swallows, Bank Swallows, Common Nighthawks, Eastern Whip-poor-wills, Canada Gooses, American Coots, Killdeers, Spotted Sandpipers, American Woodcocks, Ospreys, Merlins, Peregrine Falcons, Savannah Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, Horned Larks, Common Redpolls, Bobolinks, Rusty Blackbirds
Winter visitors (4)
American Tree Sparrows, Snow Buntings, Hoary Redpolls, Bohemian Waxwings
Long, snowy, windy winters.
When to watch: dawn chorus in St. John's
Songbirds sing hardest in the 30–60 minutes before sunrise, and most of all in spring. In St. John's, sunrise is around 6:13 AM in mid-April, 5:02 AM at the June solstice and 7:45 AM in late December (local time, America/St Johns). Fill feeders the evening before so the first birds find food.
Native plants for St. John's yards
Seed-rich cones and year-round shelter.
Catkin seed feeds redpolls and siskins all winter.
Among the first spring bloomers; early insects for returning migrants.
Dark summer fruit and heavy caterpillar load.
Spruce-budworm habitat and dense winter roosting cover.
Cone crops drive winter irruptions of finches and crossbills.
Persistent cones in boreal bogs.
Deciduous conifer with small cones for siskins and redpolls.
Nearby cities in Newfoundland and Labrador
- Paradise — 8 mi away, nesting about the same time as St. John's
- Conception Bay South — 14 mi away, nesting about the same time as St. John's
- Corner Brook — 259 mi away, nesting roughly 6 days later than St. John's
Frequently asked
What birds live in St. John's all year?
Year-round residents across Newfoundland and Labrador include Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Purple Finch, Pileated Woodpecker. All of them visit backyard feeders in St. John's.
When do birds start nesting in St. John's?
St. John's sits at a different latitude from Newfoundland and Labrador's population centre, so nesting runs about the same time as the state-wide average, going by the rule of about 4 days per degree of latitude.
What time does the dawn chorus start in St. John's?
Songbirds start singing about 30–60 minutes before sunrise. In St. John's, sunrise is around 6:13 AM in mid-April and 5:02 AM in late June.
Sources
- eBird region overview and bar charts — Newfoundland and Labrador
- Plant Hardiness Zones of Canada — Natural Resources Canada
- Audubon Native Plants Database
- GeoNames gazetteer (city coordinates & population)
- NOAA Solar Calculator methodology
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.