Evening Grosbeaks in Michigan

Evening Grosbeaks live in Michigan all year. Lake-effect snow and long cold spells; Purple Finches breed in the north and winter farther south. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward maple, box elder and ash seeds.

Humid continental, strongly shaped by the Great Lakes; colder and snowier in the Upper Peninsula.

Across Michigan, evening grosbeaks typically nest from June–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.

A compressed nesting season; bluebirds usually manage one or two broods.

• Evening Grosbeaks don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as eastern hemlock, eastern red cedar for nest sites.
• Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after July.

Of the regional native plants we track for Michigan, 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 Michigan's winter: Lake-effect snow and long cold spells; Purple Finches breed in the north and winter farther south.

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