Dear Friends of feathered friends,
This is a revised list of Montana’s wild birds that will come to feeders and birdbaths. I have added a few more infrequent visitors and another column with a key telling you which birds are year-round residents, Spring & Summer tourists, or Fall & Winter residents. There are many other wild birds that will make a surprise visit to your birdbaths to drink and/or bathe. Two birds that will come to your baths and give you a smile are the American Robin and our Mountain Bluebird. Robins put their whole heart and soul into bathing, and the male Mountain Bluebird will bring his newly fledged teenager to their first bathing lesson. Isn’t backyard birding one of America’s most delightful and relaxing at-home hobbies?
I hope this list will help you recognize and enjoy your backyard birds. If you have not been into Birds & Beasleys before, we would like to meet you…and…of course, to talk about your backyard birds.
Happy birding! Jane Beasley
| In Residence | Montana’s Backyard Birds | Seeds | In Residence | Montana’s Backyard Birds | Seeds | |
| BW | House Finch | S NT ST PB | BW | Junco | S M | |
| BW | Cassin’s Finch | S NT ST PB | BW | White-crowned Sparrow | M | |
| BW | American Goldfinch | S NT | W | White-throated Sparrow | M | |
| W | Gray-crowned Rosy-finch | S | B | Chipping Sparrow | M | |
| BW | Pine Siskin | S NT ST PB | W | Tree Sparrow (American) | M | |
| BW | Black-capped Chickadee | S P ST PB | BW | House Sparrow | S M | |
| BW | Mountain Chickadee | S P ST PB | BW | Red-winged Blackbird | S | |
| BW | Red-breasted Nuthatch | S P ST PB | BW | Yellow-headed Blackbird | S | |
| BW | White-breasted Nuthatch | S P ST PB | BW | Starling | S PB | |
| BW | Red Crossbill | S NT | B | Cowbird(Brown-headed) | S PB | |
| BW | Downy Woodpecker | S P ST PB | BW | Grackle (Common) | S PB | |
| BW | Hairy Woodpecker | S P ST PB | BW | Mourning Dove | S M | |
| BW | Flicker (Common) | S ST PB | B | Lazuli Bunting | M | |
| BW | Evening Grosbeak | S | B | Western Tanager | S ST | |
| B | Black-headed Grosbeak | S | BW | Yellow-rumped Warbler | S M | |
| BW | Stellar’s Jay | S M P ST PB | BW | Golden-crowned Kinglet | S M | |
| BW | Pinyon Jay | S P ST PB | BW | Ruby-crowned Kinglet | S M | |
| BW | Blue Jay (Eastern) | S P ST PB | BW | Rufous-sided Towhee | S M | |
| BW | Gray Jay | S ST PB | W | Common Redpoll | S NT | |
| BW | Clark’s Nutcracker | ST PB | BW | Horned Lark | S M | |
| BW | Magpie, Black-billed | S P ST PB |
In Residence Key
BW – Breeds and winters…year-round resident
B – Neo-Tropical…breeds, nests and raises young…Spring, Summer and early Fall resident
W – Fall and Winter resident
Seed Key
S – Black Oil Sunflower
M – White Proso Millet
NT – Nyjer Thistle
P – Peanuts
ST – Suet
PB – Peanut Butter and Cornmeal
You can print the article here. Backyard Birding in Montana