Most commonly seen birds in Michigan
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Michigan using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Nov. 8 to Nov. 21. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 372 count sites in Michigan. 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. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 88%
- Average group size: 2.36
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 96%
--- #1. Maine: 96%
--- #3. Vermont: 95%
--- #4. Minnesota: 90%
--- #5. Massachusetts: 89%
#2. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 84%
- Average group size: 2.43
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Massachusetts: 92%
--- #2. Connecticut: 91%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 91%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 90%
--- #5. Vermont: 88%
#3. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 80%
- Average group size: 3.4
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 93%
--- #1. Oregon: 93%
--- #3. Connecticut: 86%
--- #4. New Jersey: 85%
--- #5. New York: 84%
#4. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 77%
- Average group size: 1.96
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Kentucky: 93%
--- #2. Mississippi: 91%
--- #3. Alabama: 89%
--- #4. Arkansas: 88%
--- #5. Tennessee: 84%
#5. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 75%
- Average group size: 1.38
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. Massachusetts: 85%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 79%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 79%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 78%
#6. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 74%
- Average group size: 1.4
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 83%
--- #1. Maine: 83%
--- #1. Massachusetts: 83%
--- #4. Connecticut: 82%
--- #5. Vermont: 76%
#7. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 73%
- Average group size: 4.03
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 73%
--- #1. Michigan: 73%
--- #3. West Virginia: 72%
--- #4. Minnesota: 66%
--- #4. Maine: 66%
#8. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 67%
- Average group size: 1.11
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 70%
--- #2. Indiana: 70%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 69%
--- #5. Michigan: 67%
#9. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 64%
- Average group size: 3.28
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 81%
--- #2. Connecticut: 80%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 79%
--- #4. New Jersey: 78%
--- #5. New York: 75%
#10. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 63%
- Average group size: 1.86
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 95%
--- #2. Massachusetts: 87%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 85%
--- #3. Maine: 85%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 84%
#11. House Finch
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 60%
- Average group size: 3.16
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 87%
--- #2. Arizona: 85%
--- #3. Colorado: 84%
--- #4. West Virginia: 83%
--- #5. Indiana: 81%
#12. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 59%
- Average group size: 6.09
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Illinois: 85%
--- #2. Iowa: 84%
--- #3. Nebraska: 81%
--- #4. Ohio: 75%
--- #5. Indiana: 74%
#13. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 57%
- Average group size: 1.44
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 76%
--- #2. Washington: 62%
--- #3. Michigan: 57%
--- #4. Minnesota: 50%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 47%
#14. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 38%
- Average group size: 1.22
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 57%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 56%
--- #3. Minnesota: 51%
--- #4. Vermont: 50%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 49%
#15. American Robin
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 19%
- Average group size: 2.15
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 46%
--- #2. Nevada: 43%
--- #3. Missouri: 41%
--- #3. Colorado: 41%
--- #5. Kansas: 40%
#16. Carolina Wren
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 19%
- Average group size: 1.16
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 91%
--- #2. Georgia: 71%
--- #3. North Carolina: 70%
--- #4. Alabama: 68%
--- #5. Virginia: 66%
#17. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 16%
- Average group size: 1.58
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 64%
--- #2. Connecticut: 59%
--- #3. New Jersey: 58%
--- #4. Arkansas: 56%
--- #5. Alabama: 55%
#18. European Starling
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 14%
- Average group size: 3.84
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 34%
--- #2. Missouri: 30%
--- #3. South Dakota: 28%
--- #3. Indiana: 28%
--- #5. Wyoming: 24%
#19. American Crow
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 13%
- Average group size: 2.06
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 42%
--- #2. Wyoming: 38%
--- #3. Oklahoma: 37%
--- #4. Oregon: 29%
--- #4. Washington: 29%
#20. Wild Turkey
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 10%
- Average group size: 6.5
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 22%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 12%
--- #2. Massachusetts: 12%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 12%
--- #5. Michigan: 10%
