Most commonly seen birds in Iowa
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Iowa using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Feb. 28 to Mar. 13. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 53 count sites in Iowa. 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 Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 91%
- Average group size: 4.82
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 95%
--- #2. Oregon: 94%
--- #2. New Jersey: 94%
--- #4. Connecticut: 93%
--- #5. Iowa: 91%
#2. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 87%
- Average group size: 10.12
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Illinois: 90%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Iowa: 87%
--- #4. South Dakota: 80%
--- #5. Indiana: 75%
#3. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 83%
- Average group size: 2.62
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 100%
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #3. South Carolina: 96%
--- #4. Kentucky: 94%
--- #4. Louisiana: 94%
#4. House Finch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 81%
- Average group size: 4.08
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 95%
--- #2. Nevada: 94%
--- #3. Utah: 93%
--- #4. Alabama: 91%
--- #5. Arizona: 90%
#5. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 75%
- Average group size: 1.52
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. Missouri: 85%
--- #2. Massachusetts: 85%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #5. Vermont: 81%
#6. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 57%
- Average group size: 2.26
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 79%
--- #2. Vermont: 73%
--- #3. New Jersey: 72%
--- #4. New York: 71%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 71%
#7. American Robin
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 55%
- Average group size: 2.39
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 91%
--- #2. Arkansas: 75%
--- #3. Kentucky: 74%
--- #4. Kansas: 71%
--- #5. New Mexico: 68%
#8. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 55%
- Average group size: 1.83
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 97%
--- #2. Maine: 96%
--- #3. Vermont: 95%
--- #4. Alaska: 94%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 92%
#9. European Starling
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 53%
- Average group size: 5.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 70%
--- #2. Indiana: 69%
--- #3. Ohio: 63%
--- #4. New Jersey: 62%
--- #5. Nebraska: 61%
#10. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 53%
- Average group size: 1.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 84%
--- #2. Vermont: 81%
--- #3. Maine: 79%
--- #4. Connecticut: 75%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 75%
#11. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 47%
- Average group size: 1.16
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 78%
--- #2. New Jersey: 75%
--- #3. Nebraska: 73%
--- #4. Florida: 71%
--- #5. West Virginia: 70%
#12. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 42%
- Average group size: 2.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Kentucky: 89%
--- #2. New Jersey: 88%
--- #2. Delaware: 88%
--- #2. Louisiana: 88%
--- #5. Pennsylvania: 83%
#13. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 40%
- Average group size: 3.4
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. West Virginia: 88%
--- #2. Vermont: 87%
--- #3. Maine: 85%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 80%
--- #4. Mississippi: 80%
#14. Red-winged Blackbird
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 30%
- Average group size: 2.54
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Kansas: 54%
--- #1. Illinois: 54%
--- #3. Ohio: 48%
--- #4. Idaho: 45%
--- #4. Delaware: 45%
#15. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 28%
- Average group size: 2.3
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 85%
--- #2. Delaware: 73%
--- #3. Virginia: 70%
--- #4. Maryland: 69%
--- #5. New Jersey: 67%
#16. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 23%
- Average group size: 1.17
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 73%
--- #2. Maine: 58%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 58%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 55%
--- #5. Minnesota: 51%
#17. Common Grackle
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 21%
- Average group size: 1.95
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 52%
--- #2. New Jersey: 48%
--- #3. Kansas: 45%
--- #4. Florida: 40%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 40%
#18. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 15%
- Average group size: 1.26
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 65%
--- #2. Montana: 61%
--- #2. Nebraska: 61%
--- #4. Washington: 58%
--- #5. Oregon: 49%
#19. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 13%
- Average group size: 4.8
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 21%
--- #2. Iowa: 13%
--- #3. Illinois: 5%
#20. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 13%
- Average group size: 1.18
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 79%
--- #2. Washington: 58%
--- #3. Maine: 52%
--- #3. Vermont: 52%
--- #5. Oregon: 49%
