Great-tailed Grackle in May
Where great-tailed grackles are in May, whether they are nesting, and the best foods to offer right now.
May in the Great-tailed Grackle's year
May is the peak of the birding year. Migration floods the North, dawn chorus is at its loudest, and nesting is underway across most of the continent. By month's end the first broods of the year are hatching in mid-latitudes.
For the Great-tailed Grackle specifically, May is a spring month inside the nesting season — one of the most active and demanding periods of this bird's year. Across the 14 states and provinces where great-tailed grackles occur, what the bird is doing this month depends heavily on latitude — the details below break it down by band.
Where great-tailed grackles are in May
- Southern states
- absent
- Mid-latitudes
- year-round resident
- Northern states & Canada
- absent
In May, great-tailed grackles are absent in the South, year-round resident across the mid-latitudes, and absent in the northern states and Canada. That north–south split is the defining feature of this month: where you live changes which version of this bird you're looking at.
Nesting in May
May is inside the Great-tailed Grackle nesting season. Nest: bulky cup in trees or reeds, in noisy colonies. Clutch 1–5 eggs, incubation 13–14 days, 1–2 per season.
The season is broadly synchronized across the range this month. During the nesting months, adults switch to protein-rich foods for their young, become more secretive around the nest site, and often visit feeders in quick, purposeful trips rather than lingering.
What to feed in May
- Grasshoppers, beetles, lizards and tadpoles
Expanding north fast. Huge roosts gather in parking-lot trees; a cage feeder keeps them off small-bird seed.
Adults feeding nestlings need easy calories. Some species that ignored feeders all winter now visit regularly, and you may see fledglings brought to feeders by their parents.
Full Great-tailed Grackle diet guide → · Best feeder for great-tailed grackles →
Watching great-tailed grackles this month
In May, the best watching is around food rather than the nest — adults make repeated foraging trips and are most visible at dawn and dusk. Give nesting birds space: if a bird is carrying food or scolding you persistently, you're close to a nest and should back off.
The state guides below show exactly where in your region great-tailed grackles are expected this month and which native plants hold them in a yard.
Great-tailed Grackle month by month
Great-tailed Grackle by state
Frequently asked
Where are great-tailed grackles in May?
In May, great-tailed grackles are absent in the South, year-round resident across mid-latitudes and absent in the North.
Do great-tailed grackles nest in May?
Yes — May falls inside the Great-tailed Grackle nesting season at mid-latitudes.
What do great-tailed grackles eat in May?
Grasshoppers, beetles, lizards and tadpoles.
Sources
- Great-tailed Grackle — All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Great-tailed Grackle life history — Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Great-tailed Grackle — Audubon Guide to North American Birds
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.