Most commonly seen birds in Illinois
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Illinois 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 252 count sites in Illinois. 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. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 93%
- Average group size: 4.05
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Iowa: 97%
--- #2. Oregon: 96%
--- #2. New Jersey: 96%
--- #4. Washington: 95%
--- #4. Indiana: 95%
#2. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 90%
- Average group size: 11.18
- 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%
#3. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 90%
- Average group size: 2.32
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #2. Alabama: 96%
--- #2. Kentucky: 96%
--- #4. Washington, D.C.: 91%
--- #5. Missouri: 90%
#4. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 78%
- Average group size: 3.68
- 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%
#5. House Finch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 78%
- Average group size: 3.64
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 95%
--- #2. New Mexico: 91%
--- #3. Arizona: 90%
--- #4. Utah: 89%
--- #5. Tennessee: 87%
#6. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 76%
- Average group size: 1.37
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 90%
--- #2. South Dakota: 89%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 87%
--- #4. Indiana: 83%
--- #5. Minnesota: 82%
#7. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 66%
- Average group size: 1.13
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. New Jersey: 77%
--- #3. Indiana: 73%
--- #4. Ohio: 71%
--- #4. Arkansas: 71%
#8. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 63%
- Average group size: 1.83
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 86%
--- #1. Massachusetts: 86%
--- #3. New York: 83%
--- #4. Vermont: 81%
--- #5. Michigan: 80%
#9. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 54%
- Average group size: 3.36
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 72%
--- #2. Michigan: 71%
--- #3. Ohio: 69%
--- #4. Maine: 67%
--- #5. Indiana: 66%
#10. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 53%
- Average group size: 1.3
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 82%
--- #2. Connecticut: 80%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 77%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 77%
--- #5. Minnesota: 72%
#11. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 44%
- Average group size: 1.66
- 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%
#12. European Starling
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 40%
- Average group size: 3.65
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Indiana: 49%
--- #2. Ohio: 44%
--- #3. Nebraska: 41%
--- #4. Illinois: 40%
--- #5. Missouri: 38%
#13. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 34%
- Average group size: 1.29
- 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%
#14. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 27%
- Average group size: 1.18
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 59%
--- #1. Minnesota: 59%
--- #3. Vermont: 58%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 55%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 52%
#15. Cooper's Hawk
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 25%
- Average group size: 1.01
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 40%
--- #2. Illinois: 25%
--- #3. Arizona: 20%
--- #4. Ohio: 18%
--- #4. New Jersey: 18%
#16. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 22%
- Average group size: 1.99
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 80%
--- #2. Maryland: 67%
--- #3. Connecticut: 66%
--- #4. New Jersey: 64%
--- #5. Virginia: 62%
#17. American Tree Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 17%
- Average group size: 1.9
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Michigan: 30%
--- #2. Vermont: 25%
--- #3. Wisconsin: 23%
--- #4. Iowa: 18%
--- #4. New York: 18%
#18. American Robin
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 16%
- Average group size: 1.91
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 38%
--- #2. New Mexico: 37%
--- #2. Kansas: 37%
--- #4. Tennessee: 35%
--- #4. Nevada: 35%
#19. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 15%
- Average group size: 1.68
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 94%
--- #2. West Virginia: 89%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 86%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 85%
--- #5. North Carolina: 83%
#20. Carolina Wren
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 13%
- Average group size: 1.14
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 90%
--- #2. Georgia: 82%
--- #3. North Carolina: 78%
--- #4. Alabama: 74%
--- #4. Tennessee: 74%
