Common Grackles in Alabama

Common Grackles live in Alabama all year. Freezes are short and snow is rare; feeder traffic peaks as goldfinches, siskins and sparrows arrive from the north. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward waste grain and acorns.

Humid subtropical, with Gulf-influenced warmth in Mobile and Baldwin counties and cooler Appalachian foothills in the northeast.

Across Alabama, grackles typically nest from March–June. Nest site: bulky cup in dense conifers, often in loose colonies. Females lay 4–6 eggs, incubate for 13–14 days, and young leave the nest after 12–15 days.

Long, humid summers with frequent thunderstorms — ventilated boxes and daily-refreshed water matter.

• Common Grackles don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as white oak, red maple, live oak for nest sites.
• Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after June.

Of the regional native plants we track for Alabama, these 8 provide food or cover grackles use:

Grackles arrive in flocks and can dominate open feeders; weight-activated and caged feeders help keep smaller birds fed.

• Best foods: Cracked corn, Sunflower.
• In Alabama's winter: Freezes are short and snow is rare; feeder traffic peaks as goldfinches, siskins and sparrows arrive from the north.

Full diet breakdown for grackles · Best feeder for grackles