Most commonly seen birds in Minnesota
compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Minnesota using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's . Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Jan. 3 to Jan. 16. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 272 count sites in Minnesota. States with less than 10 count sites were not included in rankings for each bird.
Project FeederWatch, a citizen science project where participants collect data on birds at their feeders, was founded in Ontario by Erica Dunn and the Long Point Bird Observatory in 1976. The project partnered with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology after 10 years to scale the project across the U.S. and Canada and now has over 20,000 participants.
The data Project FeederWatch collects is used by scientists to understand trends in bird populations. If you would like to participate as a FeederWatcher you can learn more about the project .
Read on to see which birds are most commonly seen in your state.
#1. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 86%
- Average group size: 2.46
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 97%
--- #2. Vermont: 95%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 93%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 93%
--- #5. Massachusetts: 88%
#2. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 82%
- Average group size: 4.45
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 96%
--- #2. Delaware: 95%
--- #3. Washington: 94%
--- #3. Oregon: 94%
--- #5. Connecticut: 93%
#3. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 82%
- Average group size: 1.58
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 90%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 85%
--- #3. Missouri: 84%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 84%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 84%
#4. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 69%
- Average group size: 2.22
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 100%
--- #2. Arkansas: 94%
--- #3. Kentucky: 93%
--- #3. Tennessee: 93%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 93%
#5. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 68%
- Average group size: 1.38
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #2. Maine: 79%
--- #3. Vermont: 76%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 74%
--- #5. Connecticut: 73%
#6. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 61%
- Average group size: 2.31
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 81%
--- #1. Rhode Island: 81%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 79%
--- #4. Vermont: 78%
--- #4. New York: 78%
#7. House Finch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 60%
- Average group size: 3.36
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 96%
--- #2. Utah: 95%
--- #3. Alabama: 94%
--- #4. Arizona: 89%
--- #4. Kentucky: 89%
#8. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 57%
- Average group size: 4.05
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 83%
--- #2. Maine: 82%
--- #3. Oklahoma: 81%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 73%
--- #5. West Virginia: 71%
#9. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 57%
- Average group size: 1.27
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 69%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 65%
--- #3. Maine: 63%
--- #4. Minnesota: 57%
--- #5. West Virginia: 56%
#10. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 57%
- Average group size: 1.12
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 81%
--- #2. New Jersey: 73%
--- #3. West Virginia: 71%
--- #4. Ohio: 70%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 70%
#11. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 42%
- Average group size: 5.77
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Iowa: 89%
--- #1. Illinois: 89%
--- #3. South Dakota: 81%
--- #3. Nebraska: 81%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 78%
#12. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 36%
- Average group size: 1.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 68%
--- #2. Washington: 58%
--- #3. Maine: 50%
--- #4. Michigan: 47%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 47%
#13. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 24%
- Average group size: 3.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. West Virginia: 91%
--- #2. New Jersey: 82%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 81%
--- #4. Kentucky: 80%
--- #5. Tennessee: 79%
#14. Pileated Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 22%
- Average group size: 1.2
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Minnesota: 22%
--- #2. Indiana: 18%
--- #2. West Virginia: 18%
--- #4. Mississippi: 15%
--- #5. Michigan: 14%
#15. American Crow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 20%
- Average group size: 1.93
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 37%
--- #2. Virginia: 36%
--- #3. Maryland: 34%
--- #4. North Carolina: 29%
--- #4. West Virginia: 29%
#16. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 15%
- Average group size: 1.13
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 64%
--- #2. Nebraska: 53%
--- #3. Washington: 52%
--- #4. Oregon: 51%
--- #5. Montana: 48%
#17. European Starling
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 14%
- Average group size: 3.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 53%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 52%
--- #2. Indiana: 52%
--- #4. Delaware: 49%
--- #5. Ohio: 48%
#18. American Tree Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 13%
- Average group size: 2.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 23%
--- #1. Michigan: 23%
--- #3. New York: 21%
--- #3. Vermont: 21%
--- #5. Ohio: 14%
#19. Wild Turkey
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 12%
- Average group size: 5.93
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 16%
--- #1. Maine: 16%
--- #3. Vermont: 12%
--- #3. Minnesota: 12%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 10%
#20. American Robin
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 10%
- Average group size: 2.67
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Tennessee: 47%
--- #2. Delaware: 46%
--- #2. Kentucky: 46%
--- #4. Colorado: 39%
--- #5. New Mexico: 37%
