Regional Guide
Feeding Birds in the Mountain West
Elevation matters more than which state you live in. Above about 5,000 feet the season is short, the hummingbirds arrive late, and from spring to late fall a full feeder is a bear problem waiting to happen.
The short answer
- Bears, not seasons, set the calendar. In most of the region feeders come down from roughly April through November, and many towns have ordinances requiring it.
- Winter is the real feeding season here, and it is excellent: chickadees, nuthatches, jays, siskins and in some years rosy-finch flocks.
- Hummingbirds arrive late and leave early. Mid-April to early May at mid elevations, and most are gone by mid-September.
- High-fat foods carry birds through cold nights: black oil sunflower, sunflower hearts, suet and peanuts.
- Snow load and wind are the hardware problem. Covered feeders, sturdy poles and a shoveled ground-feeding patch make a real difference.
In the Mountain West, the question is not what to feed but when you are allowed to. Across most of the Rockies and the interior ranges, bears emerge in spring and a hanging seed feeder is among the most reliable ways to teach one that houses are worth visiting. That single fact reshapes the year.
The upside is that winter feeding here is genuinely good. Mountain chickadees, nuthatches, jays, siskins and, in some winters, flocks of rosy-finches come to feeders through months when natural food is buried.
This guide covers where the region begins and ends, the birds you can expect, how the bear calendar works, the hummingbird timing that catches newcomers out, and how to keep hardware working under snow and wind.
Where this guide applies#
This page follows elevation rather than state lines. It covers the interior mountain country of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, eastern Nevada and the higher parts of northern Arizona and New Mexico, broadly above about 5,000 feet (1,500 m), plus mountain towns and foothill communities in that band.
The edges are approximations and they blend:
- Drop east onto the plains and you are in the Great Plains, with wind but no bears and a different sparrow list.
- Drop south and west into desert basins and the Southwest applies, where heat and water dominate.
- West of the Cascade and Sierra crests, feeding looks like the Pacific Northwest.
- North across the border, the Canadian Rockies share nearly everything on this page, with stricter local rules covered in southern Canada.
Bears set the calendar#
Black bears are active from roughly April, sometimes March in low valleys, until they den in November. A feeder is a concentrated, high-calorie, effortless food source, which is exactly what turns a wild bear into a problem bear.
Rules vary enormously by jurisdiction. Many mountain towns and counties in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and elsewhere have ordinances that restrict or prohibit feeders during bear season, and some require certified bear-resistant containers for anything edible. Check your own municipality, because a neighboring town's rule tells you nothing.
The practical pattern most people settle on:
| Period | Seed and suet | Nectar | Water |
|---|---|---|---|
| December to March | Yes, main feeding season | No | Yes, heated if possible |
| April to June | Down, or check local rules | Only if brought in nightly | Yes |
| July to September | Down | Brought in nightly | Yes |
| October to late November | Down until bears den | Down | Yes |
A fed bear is usually a dead bear
Bears that learn to raid feeders and trash lose their fear of people, and wildlife agencies end up killing them. This is not a hypothetical risk in mountain towns; it happens every summer. Bringing feeders in at night is not sufficient, because bears feed by day too. The full set of precautions is in bird feeders and bears.
Birds at a mountain feeder#
| Bird | What brings it in | When |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain chickadee | Black oil sunflower, suet | Year-round, most obvious in winter |
| Black-capped chickadee | Sunflower, suet, peanut bits | Year-round in valleys and riparian areas |
| Steller's jay | Peanuts in the shell, sunflower | Year-round, downslope in winter |
| Red-breasted nuthatch | Sunflower hearts, suet | Year-round in conifers |
| White-breasted nuthatch | Sunflower, peanuts | Year-round in pine and oak |
| Pine siskin | Nyjer, sunflower chips | Erratic; huge flocks some winters, absent others |
| House finch | Sunflower, nyjer | Year-round in towns |
| Dark-eyed junco | Millet, small seed on the ground | Winter in numbers; several regional forms |
| Cassin's finch | Sunflower, nyjer | Conifer country, moves with the cone crop |
| Gray-crowned rosy-finch | Sunflower hearts, millet on a platform | Winter, some years only |
| Downy woodpecker | Suet, sunflower hearts | Year-round |
| Northern flicker | Suet, peanut bits | Year-round; more at feeders in winter |
| Broad-tailed hummingbird | Nectar | Roughly May to August |
| Rufous hummingbird | Nectar | Southbound, early July into August |
Two of these behave in ways that surprise people. Pine siskins are irruptive: a yard can be swamped one winter and see none the next, depending on the northern conifer seed crop. And Steller's jays and mountain chickadees often move downslope in winter, so a valley yard picks up birds that spent the summer several thousand feet higher.
Rosy-finches, the winter prize#
Rosy-finches breed in alpine tundra and talus, well above where anyone lives, and come down in winter to foothill towns, high valleys and mountain passes. They travel in tight flocks that can number in the hundreds, and they feed on the ground or on wide open platforms rather than from tubes.
If you are in rosy-finch country, the setup is a large open platform or tray feeder, or simply a shoveled patch of ground, stocked with sunflower hearts, black oil sunflower and millet. Sites near open, windswept country do better than sheltered suburban yards. Presence varies enormously winter to winter, so treat a flock as a bonus rather than a plan.
Hummingbirds arrive late and leave early#
The mountain hummingbird season is short and shifted from the national picture. Broad-tailed hummingbirds return to mid-elevation valleys in a window from mid-April into early May, later where snow lingers. Rufous hummingbirds move through southbound from about early July into August, which is usually the busiest nectar period of the year.
By mid-September most are gone. Standard advice is to leave a feeder up two weeks past the last sighting, which in practice means late September for most of the region. Timing details are in when to take down hummingbird feeders, and the mix never changes from one part sugar to four parts water, per the nectar recipe.
Late spring snow is when nectar feeders matter most
A heavy wet snowfall in May or June, which is normal at elevation, can shut down flowers and insects for a day or two right after the hummingbirds arrive. If bear rules in your area allow a nectar feeder at all, that is the moment it earns its place.
Cold, wind and snow load#
Winter nights at elevation regularly drop below 0°F (-18°C), and clear high-altitude skies make radiative cooling severe. Birds need fat, and they need to find it quickly at first light.
- Feed high-fat foods. Black oil sunflower, sunflower hearts, peanuts and suet, with reasoning in best high-energy foods for cold weather.
- Use covered feeders. An overhanging roof or a weather dome keeps ports clear of drifting snow, which is what actually stops birds feeding, not the temperature.
- Shovel a feeding patch. Juncos, towhees and rosy-finches feed on the ground. A cleared and restocked square of bare ground near cover is worth more than another hanging feeder.
- Anchor for wind. Ridge-top and canyon-mouth yards see gusts that will empty a swinging tube. A rigid pole with a guy or a deep-set base beats a hook on a branch.
Suet is easy in mountain winters, since it stays hard and does not spoil. It also freezes solid enough that birds struggle to chip at it in extreme cold, which is one argument for offering peanut pieces alongside it. The wider cold-weather approach is in feeding birds in extreme cold.
Water, which is often the scarcest thing#
In a mountain winter, every natural water source is frozen or buried. A heated bird bath is one of the highest-return investments available here, and unlike a seed feeder, it does not attract bears in the months when they are active.
Keep it shallow, keep it clean, and never add antifreeze or glycerin to water. Equipment and placement are covered in winter water and heated bird baths.
A Mountain West setup that works#
- December to March: a tube of black oil sunflower under a weather dome, a suet cage, a peanut feeder for jays and nuthatches, an open platform if you are in rosy-finch country, and a heated bath.
- April to November: feeders down or per local ordinance, bath running, nectar only if local rules allow and only brought in at night.
- Hardware: a rigid steel pole set deep, covers on every feeder, and nothing hanging from a branch a bear can climb.
- Storage: keep seed indoors in a sealed container, never in an open shed or on a porch, which is itself a bear attractant as well as a spoilage problem.
If you are unsure whether feeding is permitted where you live during bear season, call the local wildlife office or check your town's website before you hang anything. The general risk management is in bird feeders and bears.
Frequently asked questions#
When should I take my bird feeders down for bears?
In most of the Mountain West, before bears emerge in spring and until they den in late fall, which is broadly April through November. Many mountain towns and counties have ordinances that set specific dates or ban feeders outright in the warm months, so check your municipality rather than relying on a regional rule of thumb.
Can I feed birds in summer where there are bears?
Only carefully. Nectar feeders brought inside every night and washed, and a bird bath, are usually the safest options. Seed and suet are what get bears habituated, and a bear that learns to raid feeders often ends up destroyed. Where an ordinance applies, follow it.
When do hummingbirds arrive in the Rockies?
Broad-tailed hummingbirds typically reach mid-elevation valleys in a window from mid-April into early May, later at higher elevations as snow melts. Rufous hummingbirds pass through southbound from about early July through August, which is often the busiest hummingbird period of the year.
What are rosy-finches and how do I attract them?
Rosy-finches are high-alpine finches that descend to lower elevations and mountain towns in winter, sometimes in flocks of dozens or hundreds. They feed on the ground or on open platforms, so scatter sunflower hearts, black oil sunflower or millet on a broad tray or shoveled ground near open country. Their appearance varies a lot from winter to winter.
Does high altitude change hummingbird nectar?
No. Use the same one part sugar to four parts water everywhere. Stronger mixes are not more helpful and are harder on the birds. What altitude does change is timing and freezing risk, since cold nights are common even in June at elevation.