Common Grackles in Illinois

Common Grackles live in Illinois all year. Cold, windy winters in the north; the southern tip is milder and hosts more wintering species. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward waste grain and acorns.

Humid continental, grading from the Lake Michigan shore and prairie north to the forested Shawnee Hills in the south.

Across Illinois, grackles typically nest from April–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.

Hot, humid summers; much of the state is farmland, so backyard native plantings matter.

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

Of the regional native plants we track for Illinois, 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 Illinois's winter: Cold, windy winters in the north; the southern tip is milder and hosts more wintering species.

Full diet breakdown for grackles · Best feeder for grackles