Evening Grosbeaks in Arizona

Evening Grosbeaks live in Arizona all year. Low deserts stay mild and host many wintering sparrows and hummingbirds; the high country gets snow. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward maple, box elder and ash seeds.

Hot Sonoran and Mojave deserts in the south and west, with pine-oak sky islands and the Colorado Plateau rising above 7,000 ft.

Across Arizona, evening grosbeaks typically nest from May–July. Nest site: loose cup high in conifers. Females lay 2–5 eggs, incubate for 11–14 days, and young leave the nest after 13–14 days.

Summer highs above 110°F in Phoenix and Tucson make water the single strongest attractant; the July monsoon triggers a second breeding pulse.

• Evening Grosbeaks don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as rocky mountain juniper, ponderosa pine for nest sites.
• Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after July.

Of the regional native plants we track for Arizona, these 8 provide food or cover evening grosbeaks use:

Flocks can empty a feeder in a morning during irruption years; populations have declined sharply since the 1980s.

• Best foods: Black-oil sunflower.
• In Arizona's winter: Low deserts stay mild and host many wintering sparrows and hummingbirds; the high country gets snow.

Full diet breakdown for evening grosbeaks · Best feeder for evening grosbeaks