Backyard birds in Houston, Texas
Which birds visit Houston yards, when they nest at this latitude, and when to be out for the dawn chorus, all worked out from Houston's own coordinates.
- Coordinates
- 29.763°, -95.363°
- Population
- 2,314,157
- June 21 daylight
- 14 h 4 min
- December 21 daylight
- 10 h 14 min
- Sunrise mid-April / late June
- 6:55 AM / 6:20 AM
- Nesting vs state average
- roughly 5 days earlier than the state-wide average
- Hardiness zones (state)
- USDA 6b–10a
Nesting timing in Houston
The state guides give nesting windows for Texas as a whole, weighted toward where most people live (about 31.0°N). Houston is at 29.8°N. Going by Hopkins' bioclimatic law, spring events move about four days per degree of latitude, so breeding here starts roughly 5 days earlier than the state-wide average. Elevation and nearby water also play a part.
Daylight triggers breeding. Houston goes from 10 h 14 min of daylight at the winter solstice to 14 h 4 min in June, a 3 h 50 min swing.
- Northern Cardinal — state window March–September
- Eastern Bluebird — state window March–July; box hole 1 1/2 in round (1 9/16 in for Mountain/Western overlap)
- Carolina Chickadee — state window March–June; box hole 1 1/8 in round
- Purple Martin — state window March–July; box hole 1 3/4–2 1/8 in round, or starling-resistant crescent (3 × 1 3/16 in)
- Downy Woodpecker — state window March–June; box hole 1 1/4 in round
- Hairy Woodpecker — state window March–June; box hole 1 1/2 in round
- Tufted Titmouse — state window March–June; box hole 1 1/4 in round
- White-breasted Nuthatch — state window March–June; box hole 1 1/4 in round
- Blue Jay — state window March–July
- House Finch — state window March–August
Birds you can expect in Houston
Year-round residents (95)
Northern Cardinals, Eastern Bluebirds, Carolina Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatchs, Blue Jays, House Finchs, Carolina Wrens, Mourning Doves, American Robins, Chipping Sparrows, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Pileated Woodpeckers, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Brown-headed Nuthatchs, Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Towhees, Northern Mockingbirds, Brown Thrashers, Eastern Phoebes, Pine Warblers, Eastern Screech-Owls, House Sparrows, European Starlings, Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays, Bushtits, Juniper Titmice, Black-crested Titmice, Lesser Goldfinchs, Canyon Towhees, Gambel's Quail, Say's Phoebes, Black Phoebes, Acorn Woodpeckers, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Cactus Wrens, Curve-billed Thrashers, Verdins, Pyrrhuloxias, Bewick's Wrens, Eurasian Collared-Doves, White-winged Doves, Inca Doves, American Crows, Cooper's Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Barred Owls, Great Horned Owls, American Kestrels, Wood Ducks, Wild Turkeys, Northern Bobwhites, Mallards, Great Blue Herons, Belted Kingfishers, Eastern Meadowlarks, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Field Sparrows, Phainopeplas, Black-throated Sparrows, Green Jays, Western Screech-Owls, Band-tailed Pigeons, Common Yellowthroats, White-eyed Vireos, Vermilion Flycatchers, Great Kiskadees, Canada Gooses, American Coots, Killdeers, Green Herons, Great Egrets, Black-crowned Night Herons, Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures, Ospreys, Bald Eagles, Red-shouldered Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, Barn Owls, Burrowing Owls, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, Horned Larks, Brown-headed Nuthatchs, Cactus Wrens, Greater Roadrunners, Brewer's Blackbirds, Boat-tailed Grackles, Great-tailed Grackles, Rock Pigeons, Monk Parakeets
Summer breeders (37)
Purple Martins, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Baltimore Orioles, Orchard Orioles, Indigo Buntings, Painted Buntings, Barn Swallows, Chimney Swifts, Wood Thrushs, Great Crested Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbirds, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Bullock's Orioles, Hooded Orioles, Lark Sparrows, Yellow Warblers, Yellow-throated Warblers, Prothonotary Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats, Warbling Vireos, Eastern Wood-Pewees, Western Kingbirds, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Ash-throated Flycatchers, Cliff Swallows, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Bank Swallows, Common Nighthawks, Eastern Whip-poor-wills, Spotted Sandpipers, Savannah Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, Dickcissels, Blue Grosbeaks, Varied Buntings, Yellow-billed Cuckoos
Winter visitors (41)
American Goldfinchs, House Wrens, Purple Finchs, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Red-breasted Nuthatchs, Brown Creepers, Pine Siskins, Cedar Waxwings, Tree Swallows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Anna's Hummingbirds, Spotted Towhees, Western Bluebirds, Mountain Bluebirds, White-crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrushs, Winter Wrens, Red Crossbills, Green-tailed Towhees, Hooded Mergansers, American Redstarts, Black-and-white Warblers, Ovenbirds, Orange-crowned Warblers, Palm Warblers, American Woodcocks, Merlins, Northern Saw-whet Owls, Lewis's Woodpeckers, Swamp Sparrows, Harris's Sparrows, Lapland Longspurs, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Rusty Blackbirds
Hard freezes are brief outside the Panhandle, so most feeder birds face heat and drought stress more than cold.
When to watch: dawn chorus in Houston
Songbirds sing hardest in the 30–60 minutes before sunrise, and most of all in spring. In Houston, sunrise is around 6:55 AM in mid-April, 6:20 AM at the June solstice and 7:12 AM in late December (local time, America/Chicago). Fill feeders the evening before so the first birds find food.
Native plants for Houston yards
Evergreen cover plus red winter berries on female plants.
Clusters of purple fruit from late summer into fall.
Shade-tolerant red flowers from spring to frost; small fruit eaten by songbirds.
Native tubular red flowers; not the invasive Japanese honeysuckle.
Deciduous holly holding red fruit through winter.
Leave seed heads standing through fall and winter.
Fat-rich red fall fruit taken by thrushes, bluebirds and woodpeckers.
Dense evergreen roost cover and bluish 'berries' eaten through winter.
Nearby cities in Texas
- Bellaire — 7 mi away, nesting about the same time as Houston
- Pasadena — 11 mi away, nesting about the same time as Houston
- Aldine — 12 mi away, nesting about the same time as Houston
- Alief — 14 mi away, nesting about the same time as Houston
- Missouri City — 14 mi away, nesting about the same time as Houston
- Pearland — 15 mi away, nesting about the same time as Houston
Frequently asked
What birds live in Houston all year?
Year-round residents across Texas include Northern Cardinal, Eastern Bluebird, Carolina Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker. All of them visit backyard feeders in Houston.
When do birds start nesting in Houston?
Houston sits at a different latitude from Texas's population centre, so nesting runs roughly 5 days earlier than the state-wide average, going by the rule of about 4 days per degree of latitude.
What time does the dawn chorus start in Houston?
Songbirds start singing about 30–60 minutes before sunrise. In Houston, sunrise is around 6:55 AM in mid-April and 6:20 AM in late June.
Sources
- eBird region overview and bar charts — Texas
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023)
- Audubon Native Plants Database
- Texas Breeding Bird Atlas — Texas A&M
- 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.