Chipping Sparrows in California

Chipping Sparrows are summer residents in California, arriving shortly before nesting begins in March and leaving after the young are independent. Through the season they feed on grasshoppers, leafhoppers and caterpillars.

Mediterranean along the coast and Central Valley, alpine in the Sierra Nevada, and desert in the southeast.

Across California, chipping sparrows typically nest from March–July. Nest site: loose cup lined with hair, 3–10 ft up in conifers or shrubs. Females lay 2–7 eggs, incubate for 10–15 days, and young leave the nest after 9–12 days.

Dry summers with little rain from May to October; water and summer-blooming natives matter more than extra seed.

• Chipping Sparrows don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as rabbitbrush, palo verde, prickly pear for nest sites.
• Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after July.

Of the regional native plants we track for California, these 8 provide food or cover chipping sparrows use:

Chippers feed on lawns and low platforms and nest in ornamental evergreens near houses.

• Best foods: Millet, Hulled sunflower chips.
• In California's summer: offer water and insect foods; natural food is abundant.

Full diet breakdown for chipping sparrows · Best feeder for chipping sparrows