Ontario · Year-round resident

Purple Finchs in Ontario

When purple finches are present in Ontario, when they nest, which native Ontario plants feed them, and how to host them in a Canadian zones 0a–7a yard.

Finches (Fringillidae)Purple FinchHaemorhous purpureus

Status in Ontario: Year-round resident
Nesting window: May–July
Broods: 1–2 per season
Hardiness zones: Canadian zones 0a–7a (southern Ontario roughly equivalent to USDA 4–6)

When to expect purple finches in Ontario

Purple Finchs live in Ontario all year. Cold, snowy winters; feeder flocks are dominated by chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers and finches. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward tree seeds (ash, elm, tulip poplar); black-oil sunflower at feeders.

Humid continental in the south, boreal and subarctic in the north; most backyard birding happens in the southern Great Lakes lowlands.

Nesting in Ontario

Across Ontario, purple finches typically nest from May–July. Nest site: cup nest in conifers, usually well out on a branch. Females lay 2–7 eggs, incubate for 13 days, and young leave the nest after 13–14 days.

Short, warm summers; Point Pelee and Long Point are continent-famous migration sites.

Purple Finchs don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as serviceberry, red-osier dogwood, nannyberry for nest sites.
Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after July.

Native Ontario plants that attract purple finches

Of the regional native plants we track for Ontario, these 8 provide food or cover purple finches use:

Serviceberry

Amelanchier spp. · Shrub

Early-summer fruit.

Red-osier dogwood

Cornus sericea · Shrub

Fruit and cover.

Nannyberry

Viburnum lentago · Shrub

Winter-persistent fruit.

Eastern white cedar

Thuja occidentalis · Tree

Dense roosting cover.

Sugar maple

Acer saccharum · Tree

Insects, seeds and cavities.

Flowering dogwood

Cornus florida · Tree

Fat-rich red fall fruit taken by thrushes, bluebirds and woodpeckers.

Eastern red cedar

Juniperus virginiana · Tree

Dense evergreen roost cover and bluish 'berries' eaten through winter.

Serviceberry

Amelanchier arborea · Tree

Early-summer berries arrive exactly when nestlings are being fed.

Feeding purple finches through the Ontario year

Purple finches are irregular winter visitors south of their breeding range — numbers swing year to year with northern cone and seed crops.

Best foods: Black-oil sunflower, Hulled sunflower, Nyjer.
In Ontario's winter: Cold, snowy winters; feeder flocks are dominated by chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers and finches.

Full diet breakdown for purple finches · Best feeder for purple finches

Frequently asked

Are purple finches in Ontario year-round?

Yes. Purple Finchs are year-round residents in Ontario.

When do purple finches nest in Ontario?

Nesting in Ontario typically runs May–July, with 1–2 per season. Clutches are 2–7 eggs, incubated for 13 days.

What native plants attract purple finches in Ontario?

Serviceberry, Red-osier dogwood, Nannyberry, Eastern white cedar, Sugar maple, Flowering dogwood, Eastern red cedar, Serviceberry are native plants in Ontario that provide food or cover for purple finches.

Other backyard birds in Ontario

Northern Cardinal Eastern Bluebird Black-capped Chickadee Purple Martin Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker American Goldfinch Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch House Wren Blue Jay House Finch Ruby-throated Hummingbird Carolina Wren Mourning Dove American Robin Dark-eyed Junco White-throated Sparrow Song Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Red-bellied Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Red-headed Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Common Grackle Red-winged Blackbird Baltimore Oriole Orchard Oriole Rose-breasted Grosbeak Evening Grosbeak Pine Siskin Common Redpoll Indigo Bunting Eastern Towhee Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Cedar Waxwing Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Eastern Phoebe Chimney Swift Yellow-rumped Warbler Pine Warbler Eastern Screech-Owl Wood Thrush Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird American Tree Sparrow House Sparrow European Starling Canada Jay

Sources

Timing reflects typical patterns for the region as a whole; local dates vary with elevation and year. Check the linked eBird bar charts for your county.