Most commonly seen birds in Idaho
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Idaho using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Dec. 6 to Dec. 19. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 44 count sites in Idaho. 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 here.
Read on to see which birds are most commonly seen in your state.
#1. House Finch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 82%
- Average group size: 5.44
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 95%
--- #2. New Mexico: 91%
--- #3. Arizona: 90%
--- #4. Utah: 89%
--- #5. Tennessee: 87%
#2. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 80%
- Average group size: 4.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Iowa: 97%
--- #2. Oregon: 96%
--- #2. New Jersey: 96%
--- #4. Washington: 95%
--- #4. Indiana: 95%
#3. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 57%
- Average group size: 5.91
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington, D.C.: 100%
--- #2. Iowa: 90%
--- #2. Illinois: 90%
--- #4. Indiana: 79%
--- #5. Wyoming: 78%
#4. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 50%
- Average group size: 1.95
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. North Dakota: 100%
--- #2. Vermont: 96%
--- #2. Maine: 96%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 92%
--- #5. Minnesota: 89%
#5. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 45%
- Average group size: 3.5
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 72%
--- #2. Michigan: 71%
--- #3. Ohio: 69%
--- #4. Maine: 67%
--- #5. Indiana: 66%
#6. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 41%
- Average group size: 1.43
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 65%
--- #2. Washington: 55%
--- #3. Nevada: 50%
--- #4. Montana: 49%
--- #5. Oregon: 44%
#7. Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 34%
- Average group size: 5.03
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 78%
--- #2. Nevada: 60%
--- #3. Utah: 50%
--- #3. Colorado: 50%
--- #5. Montana: 47%
#8. American Robin
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 23%
- Average group size: 3.69
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 38%
--- #2. New Mexico: 37%
--- #2. Kansas: 37%
--- #4. Tennessee: 35%
--- #4. Nevada: 35%
#9. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 23%
- Average group size: 2.63
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Jersey: 86%
--- #2. Connecticut: 84%
--- #3. Washington, D.C.: 82%
--- #4. Pennsylvania: 81%
--- #5. New York: 78%
#10. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 23%
- Average group size: 1.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 78%
--- #2. North Dakota: 60%
--- #3. Washington: 59%
--- #4. South Dakota: 56%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 52%
#11. Lesser Goldfinch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 20%
- Average group size: 3.46
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 80%
--- #2. California: 55%
--- #3. New Mexico: 47%
--- #4. Arizona: 45%
--- #5. Utah: 42%
#12. Black-billed Magpie
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 20%
- Average group size: 2.57
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 53%
--- #2. Alaska: 44%
--- #3. Colorado: 42%
--- #4. Utah: 37%
--- #5. Idaho: 20%
#13. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 20%
- Average group size: 1.06
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 90%
--- #2. South Dakota: 89%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 87%
--- #4. Indiana: 83%
--- #5. Minnesota: 82%
#14. California Quail
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 18%
- Average group size: 15.3
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 45%
--- #2. Idaho: 18%
--- #2. Utah: 18%
--- #4. California: 8%
--- #5. Oregon: 6%
#15. American Crow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 18%
- Average group size: 2.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 39%
--- #2. Maine: 38%
--- #3. Virginia: 33%
--- #4. Oklahoma: 29%
--- #4. Oregon: 29%
#16. Song Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 18%
- Average group size: 1.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 63%
--- #2. Oregon: 48%
--- #3. Pennsylvania: 40%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 37%
--- #5. West Virginia: 36%
#17. European Starling
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 16%
- Average group size: 10.09
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Indiana: 49%
--- #2. Ohio: 44%
--- #3. Nebraska: 41%
--- #4. Illinois: 40%
--- #5. Missouri: 38%
#18. Cooper's Hawk
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 11%
- Average group size: 1.04
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 40%
--- #2. Illinois: 25%
--- #3. Arizona: 20%
--- #4. Ohio: 18%
--- #4. New Jersey: 18%
#19. Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 11%
- Average group size: 1.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 13%
--- #2. Idaho: 11%
--- #2. Utah: 11%
--- #4. Delaware: 10%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 8%
#20. Red-winged Blackbird
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 7%
- Average group size: 8.62
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 30%
--- #1. Alabama: 30%
--- #3. Colorado: 26%
--- #3. Louisiana: 26%
--- #5. Delaware: 24%
