34 Winter Birds in New York

New York in January has two kinds of birders: the ones watching the feeder from a warm kitchen, and the ones standing on a Jones Beach dune in a 20-mph wind insisting they're having fun (I've been both, and only one of them could feel her toes). The good news is that winter birds in New York show up for either approach. Chickadees work the backyard, eagles gather on open rivers, and every few years an Arctic owl drops onto a Long Island beach like it got lost on the way to a Harry Potter casting call.

Even the state bird sometimes stays. The Eastern Bluebird was named New York's state bird in 1970, and while most head south in fall, the DEC notes that they'll winter in New York if they can find enough food. So if you see a flash of blue in a sumac patch in February, it isn't your imagination.

Types of Winter Birds in New York

There are 3 types of winter birds in New York you'll see on this list:

Irruptive Species – birds that show up outside their normal range in big, unpredictable numbers, usually when seed or prey runs short up north. Some winters they flood in, some winters you won't see one
Resident New York Birds – birds that stay all year and do most of the heavy lifting at your feeders
Winter Migrants / Visitors – birds that come south to New York for the cold months, from Long Island bays to the Lake Ontario plains

Each entry covers ID, male vs female, calls, where to find the bird in the state, and its feeder favorites if it visits feeders. If you're wondering about the ones that left, here's where birds go in the winter.

1. Black-capped Chickadee

Family – Paridae
Species – Poecile atricapillus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The Black-capped Chickadee is the bird most likely to be at a New York feeder on any winter morning, and it treats every visit like a grab-and-go lunch. It takes one seed, flies to a branch, hammers it open, and comes right back. It also stashes seeds in bark and remembers where they are, which is better than I do with my reading glasses.

Look for a black cap and bib, bright white cheeks, a soft gray back, and buffy sides. Males and females look the same.

Its namesake call is a scolding chick-a-dee-dee-dee, and the more dee notes it adds, the more worked up it is. On mild late-winter days you'll also hear a clear, two-note fee-bee whistle.

Chickadees are found statewide, from Adirondack spruce forests to Brooklyn backyards, usually leading the mixed winter flocks that titmice, nuthatches, and woodpeckers follow around.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, suet, shelled peanuts

2. Northern Cardinal

Family – Cardinalidae
Species – Cardinalis cardinalis
Primary Activity Time – Dawn and Dusk
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The Northern Cardinal is the bird every holiday card in New York is quietly modeled on. It's a seed eater with a thick, cone-shaped bill that cracks sunflower and safflower with ease, and it tends to feed early and late in the day.

Males are bright red all over with a black face mask and a pointed crest. Females are warm tan-brown with red tinges on the wings, tail, and crest, plus the same coral-orange bill.

The song is a loud, whistled cheer-cheer-cheer or birdie-birdie-birdie, and both sexes sing. The call is a sharp, metallic chip.

Cardinals live year-round across most of New York, thickest in the Hudson Valley, New York City, Long Island, and the western and central lowlands. They're scarcer in the deep Adirondacks, where there's more forest than shrubby edge.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, safflower, cracked corn on a platform

3. Blue Jay

Family – Corvidae
Species – Cyanocitta cristata
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The Blue Jay is loud, smart, and not interested in sharing. It's an omnivore that eats acorns, seeds, and insects, and it can pack several peanuts in its throat before flying off to bury them, which is the bird version of leaving a party with a purse full of dinner rolls.

Males and females look alike: bright blue above with black and white barring on the wings and tail, a pale gray-white belly, and a black necklace. Males average a little larger, but you won't tell them apart at the feeder.

The classic call is a harsh jay-jay. Blue Jays also give a squeaky, gate-hinge call and do a convincing Red-shouldered Hawk impression, which clears a feeder fast.

Some New York Blue Jays migrate and some stay, so numbers change from year to year. Look for them statewide in oak woods, parks, and suburbs.

Feeder favorites: peanuts in the shell, black oil sunflower, suet

4. Dark-eyed Junco

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Junco hyemalis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant (also breeds in the Adirondacks and Catskills)

The Dark-eyed Junco is the classic "snowbird," and in much of New York its arrival in fall is how people know winter is coming. Juncos breed in the state's high, cool forests, but far more pour in from Canada for the winter and spread out across lawns, fields, and parks.

New York's juncos are the "slate-colored" form. Males are dark slate gray above with a crisp white belly, while females are paler gray with a brownish wash. Both have a pink bill and flash white outer tail feathers when they take off.

The call is a sharp tick or smack, and the song is a dry, even trill that can sound like a Chipping Sparrow.

Juncos winter statewide, usually in small flocks on the ground under feeders and along brushy edges.

Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, and sunflower chips scattered on the ground

5. Downy Woodpecker

Family – Picidae
Species – Dryobates pubescens
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker in New York and one of the most common winter feeder birds. It digs insect larvae out of bark and weed stems and is light enough to hang off a goldenrod gall, which is a party trick I'd pay to see more often.

It's black and white with a white stripe down the back and a short, stubby bill. Males have a small red patch on the back of the head, while females don't.

The call is a soft, flat pik, and it also gives a high whinny that runs downhill in pitch.

Downies are found statewide in woodlots, parks, and backyards with trees.

Feeder favorites: suet, black oil sunflower, peanuts

6. Hairy Woodpecker

Family – Picidae
Species – Dryobates villosus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The Hairy Woodpecker is the Downy's bigger lookalike, and telling them apart is a rite of passage for New York birders. It feeds on wood-boring insects in mature trees and visits suet feeders all winter.

The easiest clue is the bill: on a Hairy it's nearly as long as the head, while a Downy's is about a third as long. Hairys also have clean white outer tail feathers without the Downy's black spots. Males have a red patch on the back of the head and females don't.

The call is a loud, sharp peek, sturdier than the Downy's, and its rattle is a fast, even series of notes.

Hairy Woodpeckers are found statewide, and they're more at home than Downies in big, unbroken forests like the Adirondacks and Catskills.

Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts, black oil sunflower

7. Red-bellied Woodpecker

Family – Picidae
Species – Melanerpes carolinus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The Red-bellied Woodpecker has one of the worst names in birding, since the red on its belly is a faint blush you'll almost never see. (Whoever named it was clearly holding it upside down.) It eats acorns, nuts, fruit, and insects, and it stores food in bark crevices for later.

Look for a zebra-striped black-and-white back and a pale, buffy face and chest. Males have red from the bill all the way over the crown to the nape. Females have red only on the nape, with a gray crown.

The call is a rolling kwirr or churr that carries a long way through bare winter woods.

This species has spread north over the past several decades. Today it's common in the Hudson Valley, New York City, Long Island, and the western and central lowlands, and less common in the higher Adirondacks.

Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts, black oil sunflower

8. White-breasted Nuthatch

Family – Sittidae
Species – Sitta carolinensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The White-breasted Nuthatch spends winter creeping headfirst down tree trunks, finding food that birds going the other way miss. It wedges seeds into bark and hacks them open, which is where the name "nuthatch" comes from.

It's blue-gray above with a clean white face and breast, and a rusty wash under the tail. Males have a glossy black cap. Females usually have a grayer or duller cap, though it can be hard to tell in poor light.

The call is a nasal yank or quank, often given in a quick series.

You'll find White-breasted Nuthatches statewide in deciduous woods, parks, and yards with big trees, usually traveling with chickadees and titmice.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, peanuts, suet

9. Red-breasted Nuthatch

Family – Sittidae
Species – Sitta canadensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident / Irruptive Species

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a tiny, conifer-loving cousin of the White-breasted Nuthatch. It breeds in New York's spruce and fir forests and wanders south in big numbers in winters when cone crops fail up north.

Males have a black cap, a bold white eyebrow over a black eye line, and a rusty-orange breast. Females have a grayer cap and a paler, peachier breast.

The call is a nasal yank-yank that sounds like a toy tin horn, higher and more tinny than the White-breasted Nuthatch's.

In most winters, look for them in the Adirondacks, Tug Hill, and anywhere with spruce and pine. In irruption years they turn up at feeders across the state. This season's winter finch forecast expects good eastern cone crops to keep most of them north, so a big flight is unlikely this year.

Feeder favorites: suet, shelled peanuts, black oil sunflower

10. Tufted Titmouse

Family – Paridae
Species – Baeolophus bicolor
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The Tufted Titmouse is a small gray bird with a big personality and a crest it never stops wearing. It eats seeds, nuts, and dormant insects, and like a chickadee it takes one seed at a time and flies off to open it.

It's soft gray above and pale below with peachy flanks, big black eyes, and a pointed crest. Males and females look alike.

The song is a loud, whistled peter-peter-peter, which you'll start hearing on sunny days in late winter.

Titmice are common in southern and central New York, New York City, and Long Island, and less common in the high Adirondacks. In Manhattan, the feeding station at Evodia Field in Central Park is one of the easiest places to watch them up close in winter.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, peanuts, suet

11. American Goldfinch

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Spinus tristis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The American Goldfinch stays in New York all winter, but it trades its summer lemon-yellow for a drab olive-brown coat. Plenty of people think their goldfinches left in October, when really they're just sitting on the feeder in disguise.

In winter, males show a yellowish face and throat and jet-black wings with white bars. Females are duller, grayer, and browner, with paler wing bars. Both have a short, pale, cone-shaped bill.

The flight call is a bouncy po-ta-to-chip, given as the birds rise and fall in flight.

Goldfinches are found statewide in weedy fields, woodland edges, and anywhere with a tube feeder.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips, black oil sunflower

12. House Finch

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Haemorhous mexicanus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The House Finch has a very New York origin story. It's native to the western U.S., and the eastern population traces back to birds released on Long Island in the 1940s after they were sold illegally as caged "Hollywood finches." They've since spread across the whole eastern half of the country.

Males have a rosy-red head and chest (some are more orange or yellow, depending on diet), and females are plain brown with blurry streaks and no strong face pattern.

The song is a long, jumbled warble that often ends on a buzzy, rising note.

House Finches are common in New York's towns, cities, and suburbs year-round, especially around buildings and feeders.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips, nyjer

13. House Sparrow

Family – Passeridae
Species – Passer domesticus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird (Non-Native Species)

The House Sparrow is another New York import. The first North American releases happened in Brooklyn in the early 1850s, and the species has been elbowing its way onto feeders ever since. It eats grain and seed and roosts in noisy groups in hedges and building nooks.

Males have a gray crown, chestnut sides on the head, and a black bib that gets bigger and darker toward spring. Females are plain buffy-brown with a pale stripe behind the eye.

The call is a repetitive cheep or chirrup that you can hear on almost any city block.

House Sparrows are found wherever people are, from Manhattan to farmyards upstate.

Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn, sunflower seed

14. Mourning Dove

Family – Columbidae
Species – Zenaida macroura
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident / Partial Migrant

The Mourning Dove is a gentle seed eater that fills its crop as fast as it can and then flies off to digest in a sheltered spot. It's one of the most widespread winter feeder birds in New York.

It's slim and soft gray-brown, with black spots on the wings and a long, pointed tail. Males have a faint rosy wash on the chest and a bluish crown, while females are a bit browner.

The song is a low, sad coo-OO-oo-oo-oo that people often mistake for an owl. Their wings make a sharp whistle when they take off.

Mourning Doves are found statewide in winter, most common in farm country and suburbs, often in flocks on the ground or on wires near feeders.

Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn, black oil sunflower on a platform or the ground

15. Carolina Wren

Family – Troglodytidae
Species – Thryothorus ludovicianus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird (mostly downstate and in the lowlands)

The Carolina Wren is a small brown bird with a voice that sounds like it belongs to something three times its size. It's mostly an insect eater, poking through brush piles, garages, and ivy, and it relies on suet when the bugs run out.

It's rich cinnamon-brown above and warm buff below, with a long white eyebrow and a tail it often cocks upward. Males and females look alike.

The song is a loud, rolling teakettle-teakettle-teakettle, and only the male sings it. Pairs stay together all year, which makes them very easy to hear on a quiet winter morning.

New York is near the northern edge of its range. It's most common on Long Island, in New York City, and through the Hudson Valley and the Great Lakes lowlands, and numbers drop after harsh, snowy winters.

Feeder favorites: suet, peanut pieces, mealworms

16. White-throated Sparrow

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Zonotrichia albicollis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Resident (breeds in the Adirondacks)

The White-throated Sparrow breeds in New York's northern forests and winters mostly in the southern half of the state, which means it's basically a commuter. In winter it scratches through leaf litter under shrubs for fallen seeds, kicking backward with both feet.

Look for a bright white throat, a gray chest, and a yellow spot between the eye and the bill. There are two forms: one with bold black-and-white head stripes and one with tan-and-brown stripes. Both forms occur in both sexes.

The song is a clear, whistled Old-Sam-Peabody-Peabody-Peabody, and the call is a sharp pink.

In winter, White-throated Sparrows are common in New York City parks, on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley, and around the Finger Lakes, especially in thickets and brush piles near feeders.

Feeder favorites: white millet, sunflower chips, cracked corn scattered on the ground

17. American Tree Sparrow

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Spizelloides arborea
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The American Tree Sparrow spends its summers in the far north and its winters in weedy New York fields, mostly on the ground. (The "tree" part of the name was a mix-up by early settlers, and the bird has been too polite to correct anyone.)

It has a rusty cap, a rusty line behind the eye, a gray face, a plain gray breast with a small dark central spot, and a two-toned bill: dark on top, yellow below. Males and females look alike.

The call is a high tseet, and feeding flocks keep up a soft, musical twitter.

Tree sparrows winter across most of upstate New York in hedgerows, overgrown fields, and marsh edges, and they'll come into yards with brush piles near open country.

Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn scattered on the ground

18. Eastern Bluebird

Family – Turdidae
Species – Sialia sialis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
New York State Bird (Partial Migrant, some overwinter)

The Eastern Bluebird is New York's state bird, and it's one of the better winter surprises the state has to offer. Most move south in fall, but some stay through the winter where they can find food, switching from insects to berries like sumac, dogwood, juniper, and multiflora rose. In cold weather, groups of bluebirds roost together in tree cavities or nest boxes to stay warm.

Males are a deep royal blue above with a rusty-orange throat and chest and a white belly. Females are grayish above with blue on the wings and tail and a softer orange wash on the chest.

The call is a soft, musical tu-a-wee, and the song is a low, warbled chur-lee, chur-lee.

In winter, look for small flocks in open country with fruiting shrubs, such as farm edges, orchards, and old fields across central and western New York and the Hudson Valley. A roosting box is a nice way to help them through a cold snap.

Feeder favorites: mealworms, suet nuggets, chopped fruit

19. American Robin

Family – Turdidae
Species – Turdus migratorius
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident / Partial Migrant

The American Robin doesn't really leave New York in winter, it just stops hanging out on the lawn. Wintering robins switch to fruit and move around in flocks, raiding crabapples, hollies, and juniper berries.

Males have a dark gray-black head and a deep orange breast, while females are paler, with a grayer head and a lighter orange breast.

In winter you'll mostly hear their alarm calls, a sharp tut-tut or a high seee, rather than the familiar spring song.

Robins winter across much of New York, especially downstate, on Long Island, and in river valleys where fruiting trees are common. You're more likely to see a flock of thirty in a berry tree than one on the grass.

Feeder favorites: chopped apples, softened raisins, mealworms

20. Cooper's Hawk

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Astur cooperii
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident / Partial Migrant

The Cooper's Hawk is the reason your feeder sometimes goes silent all at once. It's a bird-hunting hawk that uses shrubs, fences, and houses as cover to ambush songbirds and doves. If one takes a bird at your feeder, it's nature doing nature, not you doing something wrong.

Adults are blue-gray above with fine orange barring on the chest, a dark cap, and a long, banded tail with a rounded white tip. Males and females look alike, but females are much larger, nearly crow-sized.

Cooper's Hawks are usually quiet in winter, but near nests they give a loud, chattering cak-cak-cak.

They're found statewide in winter, and they're regulars in suburbs and city parks, including Central Park.

21. Red-tailed Hawk

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Buteo jamaicensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident New York Bird

The Red-tailed Hawk is New York's most familiar raptor, and the Thruway is basically one long Red-tail viewing platform in winter. It hunts mice and voles from poles and lone trees over open fields, dropping onto prey in the snow.

Adults are brown above and pale below, with a dark belly band and a brick-red upper tail. Males and females look alike, though females are larger.

The call is a hoarse, screaming kee-eee-arr, the sound Hollywood dubs over every eagle in every movie.

Red-tails are found statewide, from highway medians to Manhattan. Central Park has hosted a year-round pair for decades, starting with the famous Pale Male, who nested on a Fifth Avenue building.

22. Bald Eagle

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Primary Activity Time – Early morning and late afternoon
Diurnal
Resident / Winter Migrant

The Bald Eagle is New York's showiest winter visitor. Resident birds are joined by eagles from Canada, and they gather on open water to fish and scavenge. According to the DEC, wintering eagles start arriving in December, peak in January and February, and head back to their nests by mid-March.

Adults have a dark brown body, a white head and tail, and a big yellow bill. Young eagles are mottled brown and white and take about five years to get the full adult look. Males and females look alike, but females are larger.

The call is a thin, high chatter that sounds surprisingly weak for such a big bird.

The DEC lists the Upper Delaware River watershed (including viewing areas in Mongaup Valley Wildlife Management Area), the Hudson River, the St. Lawrence River, and Onondaga Lake as top winter spots. At Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, eagles stay through the winter as long as the canals stay open, though the Wildlife Drive is closed for the season.

Please give eagles plenty of room. The DEC's Bald Eagle viewing guidelines ask you to stay at least a quarter mile away, stay in or right next to your car, and skip the door slamming. A flushed eagle burns energy it can't spare in January, and no photo is worth that.

23. Rough-legged Hawk

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Buteo lagopus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Rough-legged Hawk breeds in the Arctic and comes to New York for the winter, which says a lot about what it thinks of the Arctic. It hunts voles and lemming-like rodents over open fields, often hovering in place into the wind before it drops.

The name comes from its legs, which are feathered all the way to the toes. Most birds are light morphs, with a pale head, a dark belly band, dark patches at the wrists, and a white tail with a dark band at the tip. Dark morphs are chocolate brown all over. Females usually have a solid dark belly band, while males are more mottled or barred across the belly and chest.

Rough-legged Hawks are mostly silent in winter.

Look for them in big, open farm country and grasslands, like the Lake Ontario plains, the Champlain Valley, and the grasslands of Washington County near Fort Edward.

24. Snowy Owl

Family – Strigidae
Species – Bubo scandiacus
Primary Activity Time – Dawn and Dusk
Diurnal and Nocturnal
Irruptive Species (uncommon, mostly on the coast and open country)

The Snowy Owl is the bird half of New York hopes to see every winter. It breeds in the Arctic and moves south in varying numbers, so some winters bring several to Long Island beaches and others bring almost none. Unlike most owls, it hunts by day as well as by night, taking rodents, rabbits, and waterbirds.

Adult males can be nearly pure white. Females and young birds have heavy dark barring, so a heavily barred Snowy is usually a female or a first-winter bird.

Snowy Owls are mostly silent in winter.

Snowies like wide, open spaces that look like tundra. In New York that means the dunes at Jones Beach, Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, Breezy Point, airports, and big farm fields upstate. In 2021 one even landed in Central Park, the first confirmed visit there in over a century. If you find one, keep your distance and let it rest. A Snowy that keeps getting flushed can't hunt.

25. Short-eared Owl

Family – Strigidae
Species – Asio flammeus
Primary Activity Time – Dawn and Dusk
Crepuscular
Winter Migrant (endangered in New York)

The Short-eared Owl is an open-country owl that floats low over fields at dusk like a giant moth with a vole problem. It's listed as endangered in New York, and the DEC notes that in winter they gather where voles are plentiful, sometimes in communal roosts of up to 200 birds.

It's tawny-brown and streaky with pale underwings, dark wrist patches, and bright yellow eyes in a pale facial disk. The tiny "ear" tufts are rarely visible. Females are usually darker and more buff than males, but there's lots of overlap.

Short-eared Owls are mostly quiet in winter but sometimes give a raspy bark.

Wintering concentrations show up in the Finger Lakes region, the Lake Ontario plains (especially Jefferson County), the Hudson Valley grasslands around Fort Edward, and Long Island's shores. Arrive about an hour before sunset and watch from your car.

26. Great Horned Owl

Family – Strigidae
Species – Bubo virginianus
Primary Activity Time – Night
Nocturnal
Resident New York Bird

The Great Horned Owl is a year-round New Yorker and one of the earliest nesters in the state, often sitting on eggs by late winter while snow is still on the ground. It hunts almost anything it can catch, from rabbits and rats to skunks and other birds.

It's a big, bulky owl with long ear tufts, yellow eyes, a white throat patch, and mottled gray-brown plumage. Males and females look alike, but females are larger.

The call is a deep, soft hoo-h'HOO-hoo-hoo. In winter, pairs often duet, and the male's voice is lower than the female's even though he's the smaller bird.

Great Horned Owls live statewide in woods, farmland, and city parks, and they're among the owls most often found wintering in Central Park.

27. Brant

Family – Anatidae
Species – Branta bernicla
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Brant is a small, dark sea goose that breeds in the high Arctic and winters in big numbers along the New York coast. It feeds on eelgrass and sea lettuce in shallow bays and, more and more, grazes on lawns and ball fields near the water.

It has a black head, neck, and chest, a small white necklace, a brown back, and a white rear end. Males and females look alike.

Flocks give a low, rolling, gargling cronk, and a big flock sounds like a crowd at a ball game.

Look for Brant on Jamaica Bay, the bays behind Jones Beach, and Long Island's south and north shores, often in flocks of hundreds.

28. Long-tailed Duck

Family – Anatidae
Species – Clangula hyemalis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Long-tailed Duck is a deep-diving sea duck that breeds in the Arctic and winters on New York's big waters. It dives for mollusks, crustaceans, and small fish, and it's one of the deepest-diving ducks in the world.

In winter, males are mostly white with a dark chest, a dark cheek patch, a pink band on the bill, and long, needle-like tail feathers. Females are brown and white with a dark crown and cheek spot and no long tail.

Males are noisy, with a yodeling ow-owdle-ow call that carries across the water.

Look for rafts of them off Montauk Point, along Long Island Sound, and on Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

29. Harlequin Duck

Family – Anatidae
Species – Histrionicus histrionicus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant (uncommon, rocky coast)

The Harlequin Duck is one of the most beautiful ducks in North America, and it chooses to spend the winter in the worst surf it can find. It feeds on crabs, snails, and other invertebrates along rocky shorelines and jetties.

Males are slate blue with chestnut sides and bold white stripes and spots outlined in black, like someone painted them with a very small brush. Females are gray-brown with white around the bill and eye and a white spot on the rear of the cheek.

Harlequins give high, squeaky calls that have earned them the nickname "sea mice."

They're uncommon in New York, but small numbers winter along rocky parts of the Long Island coast. The jetties at Point Lookout near Jones Beach and the rocks at Montauk Point are the classic spots.

30. Iceland Gull

Family – Laridae
Species – Larus glaucoides
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant (uncommon, Niagara River and the coast)

The Iceland Gull is a pale, gentle-faced gull that comes down from the Arctic in winter, and it's a big reason gull nerds flock to the Niagara River. (I say "gull nerds" with love, because I've been known to stare at a flock of 5,000 gulls for an hour looking for one with paler wings.)

Adults are pale gray above with white or very pale gray wingtips, a rounded head, and a smallish bill. Young birds are pale, frosty, and evenly mottled. The form most often seen on the East Coast is called "Kumlien's" Iceland Gull. Males and females look alike.

Calls are high, squealing kyow notes, softer than a Herring Gull's.

The Niagara River gulls are the main event: New York State Parks says as many as 100,000 gulls stop over in fall and winter, with Iceland Gulls mixed in among the Bonaparte's, Ring-billed, and Herring Gulls. Scan from Niagara Falls State Park and Fort Niagara State Park, or check Long Island beaches and inlets.

31. Snow Bunting

Family – Calcariidae
Species – Plectrophenax nivalis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Snow Bunting shows up in winter flocks that look like a handful of snowflakes blowing across a field. It eats grass and weed seeds on bare, windswept ground and beaches.

In winter, both sexes are white below with warm tan-brown on the head and back. Males show more white in the wings, while females are browner and more streaked. In flight, all of them flash big white wing patches.

Flocks give a soft, rippling twitter and short, buzzy notes as they lift off.

Look for Snow Buntings on Long Island beaches (Jones Beach is a reliable spot), in the Champlain Valley, and in plowed farm fields and manure-spread fields across upstate New York, often with Horned Larks.

32. Pine Siskin

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Spinus pinus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Irruptive Species

The Pine Siskin is a tiny, streaky finch that shows up in huge numbers some winters and barely at all in others. It eats conifer, birch, and alder seeds and crowds onto feeders when it arrives.

It's brown and heavily streaked with a thin, pointed bill and flashes of yellow in the wings and tail. Males usually show a bit more yellow than females, but many can't be told apart.

The call is a rising, buzzy zreeee, like someone slowly zipping up a jacket.

This could be a good winter for them. The Finch Research Network forecast expects strong cedar, hemlock, and white pine crops to hold a sizable irruption in the northeastern states. Look for them anywhere with conifers and at nyjer feeders.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips

33. Redpoll

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Acanthis flammea
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Irruptive Species

You may know it as the Common Redpoll or the Hoary Redpoll, but in 2024 the American Ornithological Society combined them into a single species: the Redpoll. Fewer species to look for, same number of hours spent squinting at frosty finches.

It's a small, streaky finch with a red cap, a black chin, and a short, yellow bill. Males have a rosy-pink wash on the chest. Females are streakier and usually lack the pink. Some birds are much paler and frostier than others.

The call is a dry, rattling chit-chit-chit and a rising sweeet.

Redpolls irrupt into New York every few winters, mostly in the north, on birch and alder seeds and at feeders. This year's forecast doesn't expect a big flight, but a small one wouldn't be a shock.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips

34. Evening Grosbeak

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Coccothraustes vespertinus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Irruptive Species (uncommon, mostly northern New York)

The Evening Grosbeak is a big, chunky finch with a bill like a pair of pliers, and a flock of them can empty a platform feeder before you've finished your coffee. It cracks large seeds, including maple and boxelder, and it loves sunflower.

Males are golden yellow with a dark head, a bright yellow eyebrow, black wings, and a big white wing patch. Females are silvery gray with a yellowish neck and black-and-white wings.

The call is a loud, ringing peer or cleer that carries a long way.

Evening Grosbeaks are most likely in the Adirondacks and Tug Hill. The current forecast says a small movement south into southern New York is possible this winter.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower on a platform feeder

New York Winter Birds FAQ

What birds stay in New York in the winter?

Year-round residents like the Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, and White-breasted Nuthatch stay put. They're joined by winter visitors like Dark-eyed Juncos, American Tree Sparrows, Brant, and Snow Buntings, plus irruptive finches and Snowy Owls in some years. To compare with the state next door, see our guide to winter birds in Pennsylvania.

What are the most common winter feeder birds in New York?

In Project FeederWatch's New England and Mid-Atlantic regional counts, Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Downy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, and Blue Jay are reliably among the most reported birds. If you put out black oil sunflower and suet, you'll see most of the NY winter birds on that list. Water matters too, so a heated bird bath is worth it once everything freezes.

Do Eastern Bluebirds stay in New York in winter?

Some do. Most of New York's state bird heads south in fall, but bluebirds will winter in the state if they can find enough food. Look for small flocks around berry bushes in open country, and put out a roosting box if you have bluebirds nearby.

Where can I see Snowy Owls in New York?

Snowy Owls favor wide, open places: Jones Beach, Floyd Bennett Field, Breezy Point, airports, and large farm fields upstate. Numbers change a lot from year to year. When you find one, watch from a distance and don't push closer for a photo.

Where can I see bald eagles in New York in winter?

The Upper Delaware River and Mongaup Valley Wildlife Management Area, the Hudson River, the St. Lawrence River, and Onondaga Lake are the best-known spots. January and February are peak months. Heading south? Our guide to winter birds in New Jersey covers the eagles and sea ducks just across the Hudson.

What is the best bird seed for winter in New York?

Black oil sunflower attracts the widest range of species, so it's the one seed to buy if you only buy one. To bring in more of the birds of New York, add suet for woodpeckers, nuthatches, and wrens, nyjer for goldfinches and siskins, and white millet on the ground for juncos and sparrows. Skip bread entirely, since it fills birds up without giving them the nutrition they need in the cold.

And if you spend all winter staking out a beach for a Snowy Owl and it never shows, don't take it personally. It's probably at JFK, watching planes and judging your binoculars.

What Birds Have You Seen in New York This Winter?

Share your sightings on the Sparkbird App and see what other New York birders are finding near you. Chances are someone's already found the Snowy Owl, and they'd love some company in the cold.