Most commonly seen birds in New York
compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in New York 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 755 count sites in New York. 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. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 89%
- Average group size: 4.86
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 96%
--- #2. Delaware: 95%
--- #3. Washington: 94%
--- #3. Oregon: 94%
--- #5. Connecticut: 93%
#2. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 84%
- Average group size: 2.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 100%
--- #2. Arkansas: 94%
--- #3. Kentucky: 93%
--- #3. Tennessee: 93%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 93%
#3. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 83%
- Average group size: 2.28
- 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%
#4. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 79%
- Average group size: 1.41
- 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%
#5. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 78%
- Average group size: 2.87
- 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%
#6. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 76%
- Average group size: 4.78
- 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%
#7. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 68%
- Average group size: 1.11
- 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%
#8. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 67%
- Average group size: 2.04
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 93%
--- #1. Rhode Island: 93%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 86%
--- #3. Georgia: 86%
--- #5. North Carolina: 85%
#9. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 65%
- Average group size: 1.31
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #2. Maine: 79%
--- #3. Vermont: 76%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 74%
--- #5. Connecticut: 73%
#10. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 59%
- Average group size: 3.77
- 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%
#11. House Finch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 58%
- Average group size: 3.67
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 96%
--- #2. Utah: 95%
--- #3. Alabama: 94%
--- #4. Arizona: 89%
--- #4. Kentucky: 89%
#12. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 52%
- Average group size: 5.97
- 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%
#13. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 47%
- Average group size: 1.19
- 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. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 35%
- Average group size: 2.38
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 75%
--- #2. Maryland: 68%
--- #3. Virginia: 67%
--- #4. Connecticut: 61%
--- #5. New Jersey: 60%
#15. European Starling
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 34%
- Average group size: 3.95
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 53%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 52%
--- #2. Indiana: 52%
--- #4. Delaware: 49%
--- #5. Ohio: 48%
#16. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 31%
- Average group size: 1.24
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 68%
--- #2. Washington: 58%
--- #3. Maine: 50%
--- #4. Michigan: 47%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 47%
#17. Carolina Wren
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 31%
- Average group size: 1.18
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 82%
--- #2. North Carolina: 80%
--- #2. Alabama: 80%
--- #4. Mississippi: 77%
--- #5. Arkansas: 75%
#18. American Crow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 21%
- Average group size: 2.32
- 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%
#19. American Tree Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 21%
- Average group size: 2.1
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 23%
--- #1. Michigan: 23%
--- #3. New York: 21%
--- #3. Vermont: 21%
--- #5. Ohio: 14%
#20. Song Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 16%
- Average group size: 1.53
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 67%
--- #2. Oregon: 51%
--- #3. West Virginia: 41%
--- #4. Connecticut: 39%
--- #5. Pennsylvania: 36%
