Most commonly seen birds in Montana
compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Montana 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 54 count sites in Montana. 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: 69%
- Average group size: 2.69
- 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. House Finch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 67%
- Average group size: 5.86
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 96%
--- #2. Utah: 95%
--- #3. Alabama: 94%
--- #4. Arizona: 89%
--- #4. Kentucky: 89%
#3. Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 56%
- Average group size: 3.13
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. South Dakota: 56%
--- #1. Montana: 56%
--- #3. Wyoming: 55%
--- #4. Utah: 50%
--- #5. Colorado: 48%
#4. Black-billed Magpie
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 52%
- Average group size: 2.46
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 52%
--- #2. Alaska: 46%
--- #3. Utah: 42%
--- #4. Colorado: 40%
--- #5. Wyoming: 30%
#5. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 48%
- Average group size: 3.99
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 96%
--- #2. Delaware: 95%
--- #3. Washington: 94%
--- #3. Oregon: 94%
--- #5. Connecticut: 93%
#6. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 48%
- Average group size: 1.39
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 64%
--- #2. Nebraska: 53%
--- #3. Washington: 52%
--- #4. Oregon: 51%
--- #5. Montana: 48%
#7. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 46%
- Average group size: 6.65
- 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%
#8. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 41%
- Average group size: 1.28
- 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%
#9. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 37%
- Average group size: 5.38
- 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%
#10. Mountain Chickadee
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 30%
- Average group size: 1.38
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 45%
--- #2. Nevada: 36%
--- #3. Montana: 30%
--- #4. Colorado: 29%
--- #5. Arizona: 15%
#11. Pine Siskin
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 20%
- Average group size: 5.57
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 24%
--- #2. Montana: 20%
--- #3. Colorado: 12%
--- #3. Arizona: 12%
--- #5. Alaska: 11%
#12. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 20%
- Average group size: 1.3
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 68%
--- #2. Washington: 58%
--- #3. Maine: 50%
--- #4. Michigan: 47%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 47%
#13. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 15%
- Average group size: 1.08
- 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%
#14. American Crow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 11%
- Average group size: 3.83
- 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%
#15. American Robin
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 11%
- Average group size: 2.86
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Tennessee: 47%
--- #2. Delaware: 46%
--- #2. Kentucky: 46%
--- #4. Colorado: 39%
--- #5. New Mexico: 37%
#16. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 11%
- Average group size: 2.0
- 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%
#17. Rock Pigeon
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 7%
- Average group size: 4.27
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 20%
--- #2. Arizona: 17%
--- #3. Wyoming: 15%
--- #4. New Mexico: 12%
--- #5. Utah: 8%
#18. Canada Jay
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 7%
- Average group size: 1.76
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 30%
--- #2. Montana: 7%
--- #3. Colorado: 1%
#19. Townsend's Solitaire
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 7%
- Average group size: 1.38
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 10%
--- #2. New Mexico: 8%
--- #2. Idaho: 8%
--- #4. Montana: 7%
--- #5. South Dakota: 6%
#20. Cedar Waxwing
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 6%
- Average group size: 7.75
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oklahoma: 19%
--- #2. Texas: 14%
--- #3. Kansas: 13%
--- #3. South Dakota: 13%
--- #3. South Carolina: 13%
