Song Sparrows in California

Song Sparrows live in California all year. Wet, mild winters are the green season — the busiest time at coastal feeders as sparrows and hummingbirds settle in. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward weed and grass seeds.

Mediterranean along the coast and Central Valley, alpine in the Sierra Nevada, and desert in the southeast.

Across California, song sparrows typically nest from March–August. Nest site: grass cup on the ground or low in shrubs. Females lay 3–5 eggs, incubate for 12–14 days, and young leave the nest after 9–12 days.

Dry summers with little rain from May to October; water and summer-blooming natives matter more than extra seed.

• Song Sparrows don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as chokecherry, ponderosa pine, rabbitbrush for nest sites.
• Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after August.

Of the regional native plants we track for California, these 8 provide food or cover song sparrows use:

Song Sparrows feed at the edge of shrubbery and are among the first birds singing in late winter.

• Best foods: Millet, Hulled sunflower, Cracked corn.
• In California's winter: Wet, mild winters are the green season — the busiest time at coastal feeders as sparrows and hummingbirds settle in.

Full diet breakdown for song sparrows · Best feeder for song sparrows