White-winged Crossbill in September

September is the peak of fall migration. Huge numbers of birds move south on cold fronts, mixed flocks form, and summer residents slip away almost unnoticed. Young birds making their first migration appear in places the species rarely visits.

For the White-winged Crossbill specifically, September is a fall month inside the nesting season — one of the most active and demanding periods of this bird's year. Across the 55 states and provinces where white-winged crossbills occur, what the bird is doing this month depends heavily on latitude — the details below break it down by band.

Southern states

absent

Mid-latitudes

year-round resident

Northern states & Canada

absent

In September, white-winged crossbills 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.

September is inside the White-winged Crossbill nesting season. Nest: cup on a spruce branch; can nest mid-winter. Clutch 2–5 eggs, incubation 12–14 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.

• Spruce, larch and hemlock seeds

Wanders the boreal forest chasing spruce cone crops; nests in any month cones are ripe.

Migrants passing through may stop at feeders for a day and never return — September rewards watching closely. Natural seed and fruit crops are abundant, so feeder traffic can be uneven.

Full White-winged Crossbill diet guide → · Best feeder for white-winged crossbills →

In September, 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 white-winged crossbills are expected this month and which native plants hold them in a yard.

AlabamaAlaskaAlbertaArkansasBritish ColumbiaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKentuckyLouisianaMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusetts