As Northern Landscapes Freeze, Chicago Welcomes Seasonal Songbirds

Though a snowy, cold winter may not seem like an ideal time to watch birds in the Chicago region, certain species appear mostly during this season, and some are fairly easy to find with a bit of knowledge about where and how to look. Some can even be attracted to yards.

“Winter can be a wonderful time to go birding, as well as to feed birds,” says Chris Holden, field trip chairman for the Chicago Ornithological Society. “With many trees and other flora leafless, it can be a lot easier to not only spot birds, but also get fantastic views of them.”

DARK-EYED JUNCOS ARE BACK IN CHICAGO REGION YARDS AND PARKS

Each winter, dark-eyed juncos appear in the Chicago region after breeding farther north, Holden notes. Juncos are easy to spot in yards and natural areas. They have dark backs and breasts, white bellies and pink bills, and are noticed by even the most casual birders.

They visit backyards where feeders are available, but they don’t typically perch on the feeders like year-round residents such as black-capped chickadees. Instead, they hop on the ground, pecking at seeds dropped by messy birds such as mourning doves and house finches. Some occasionally perch on feeders to grab a morsel of peanut or thistle.

The dark-eyed junco is an abundant migrant and winter resident statewide in Illinois, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Some arrive as early as late August, while others come later and remain through the winter.  

“During the bleak season, when all the world seems drab and plain and colorless, a passel of dark-eyed juncos is an indescribably refreshing sight,” writes Dan Lory, a Chicago Ornithological Society blogger. “If you happen upon a foraging flock, the ground around you comes to life with velvety gray balls jumping up like popcorn and flitting to nearby trees or shrubs. When they spread their tails to bank or to land, they flash bright white outer tail feathers,” he relays.

Dark-eyed juncos remain here through at least early April and serve not only as a harbinger of winter, but also of spring, according to Lory. “Anyone who keeps bird feeders in their yard through the winter knows this bird’s spring call very well. Its warm, high-pitched trill brightens the dead gray surroundings well before any green leaves begin to appear,” he writes.

AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS VISIT CHICAGO EVERY WINTER

Another winter-only visitor to the Chicago region is the American tree sparrow. Its name is not quite accurate because this sparrow breeds on the treeless tundra. The species is petite—smaller than many year-round sparrows—but has a proportionately longer tail. It has a rusty cap, eyeline and back with two white wing bars. Its belly is white with a dark central spot, and a close look through binoculars can reveal its dark upper bill and yellow lower bill.

American tree sparrows winter in weedy fields, along fence rows, at woodland edges, in thickets and in grain fields. When snow makes seeds harder to reach, they visit yards with feeders. They hop or scratch on the ground for food alongside dark-eyed juncos and also use their wings to shake seeds loose from asters and other flower heads projecting above the snow. Good places to look for them beyond backyard feeders include lakefront parks such as Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary and Illinois Beach State Park. As winter ends, they head far north to their tundra breeding grounds.

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES ARE FAIRLY COMMON IN CHICAGOLAND THIS SEASON

Red-breasted nuthatches live year-round in coniferous forests across Canada and northeastern United States. They move south, typically every two years, when seed-laden cones on spruce, pine and fir trees are scarce in their northern ranges. Poor cone crops this season in the eastern boreal forest have sent the species southward, even as far as Alabama, according to Tyler Hoar, author of the annual winter birds forecast report (FinchNetwork.org/winter-finch-forecast-2025-2026) as well as many books on birds including Birds of Canada with co-authors Wayne Campbell and Ken De Smet. 

The red-breasted nuthatch is 4.5 inches long, with blue-gray upperparts, rusty underparts, a white cheek and throat, a black cap, white eyebrow and white eyeline. The female has a lighter cap and more diffuse rust on her breast.

“Don’t confuse the red-breasted with the white-breasted nuthatch, which stays in the Chicago region all year,” Holden says. The white-breasted is larger, lacks the black eyeline and has white underparts and face with a bluish-gray back. The male has a black cap; the female’s is light gray.

Both species forage head-down on tree trunks, probing for insect larvae hidden in bark. They also store seeds from trees and feeders in bark crevices, creating a winter pantry.

 Birders have reported seeing red-breasted nuthatches this fall and winter in Mundelein, Schaumburg, Lockport, Horner Park, Chicago and other communities, both at feeders offering peanut pieces and sunflower seeds and in natural areas with conifers full of seeds the birds love.

Seeing any of these winter visitors is a good reason to get outdoors, Holden suggests. “Winter birding can shift your mindset,” he says. “It’s easy to think of the winter as a time to hibernate, figuratively speaking, in order to avoid the cold and snow. However, if you can learn to think of it as a special time to get outside, an opportunity to see things that you can’t see at other times such as birds from up north, it can really help with cabin fever,” he says.          

Sheryl DeVore has written six books on science, health and nature, as well as nature, health and environment stories for national and regional publications. Read more at SherylDeVore.WordPress.com.