Chipping Sparrows in New Mexico

Chipping Sparrows live in New Mexico all year. Cold nights and sunny days; many desert and mountain birds move to lower elevations. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward grass seeds.

Arid to semi-arid, with Chihuahuan desert in the south and mountain forest above 7,000 ft.

Across New Mexico, chipping sparrows typically nest from April–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.

Hot, dry early summer followed by the July–August monsoon.

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

Of the regional native plants we track for New Mexico, 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 New Mexico's winter: Cold nights and sunny days; many desert and mountain birds move to lower elevations.

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