Most commonly seen birds in New Jersey
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in New Jersey 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 246 count sites in New Jersey. 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: 96%
- Average group size: 4.2
- 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. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 86%
- Average group size: 4.62
- 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%
#3. House Finch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 84%
- Average group size: 3.9
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 95%
--- #2. New Mexico: 91%
--- #3. Arizona: 90%
--- #4. Utah: 89%
--- #5. Tennessee: 87%
#4. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 83%
- Average group size: 1.96
- 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%
#5. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 78%
- Average group size: 2.17
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 86%
--- #1. Massachusetts: 86%
--- #3. New York: 83%
--- #4. Vermont: 81%
--- #5. Michigan: 80%
#6. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 77%
- Average group size: 1.12
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. New Jersey: 77%
--- #3. Indiana: 73%
--- #4. Ohio: 71%
--- #4. Arkansas: 71%
#7. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 75%
- Average group size: 1.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 90%
--- #2. South Dakota: 89%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 87%
--- #4. Indiana: 83%
--- #5. Minnesota: 82%
#8. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 66%
- Average group size: 2.19
- 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%
#9. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 65%
- Average group size: 5.99
- 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%
#10. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 64%
- Average group size: 2.66
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 80%
--- #2. Maryland: 67%
--- #3. Connecticut: 66%
--- #4. New Jersey: 64%
--- #5. Virginia: 62%
#11. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 59%
- Average group size: 1.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 82%
--- #2. Connecticut: 80%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 77%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 77%
--- #5. Minnesota: 72%
#12. Carolina Wren
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 52%
- Average group size: 1.16
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 90%
--- #2. Georgia: 82%
--- #3. North Carolina: 78%
--- #4. Alabama: 74%
--- #4. Tennessee: 74%
#13. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 39%
- 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%
#14. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 33%
- Average group size: 1.53
- 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%
#15. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 32%
- Average group size: 1.91
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 72%
--- #2. Michigan: 71%
--- #3. Ohio: 69%
--- #4. Maine: 67%
--- #5. Indiana: 66%
#16. Song Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 31%
- Average group size: 1.27
- 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: 25%
- Average group size: 3.6
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Indiana: 49%
--- #2. Ohio: 44%
--- #3. Nebraska: 41%
--- #4. Illinois: 40%
--- #5. Missouri: 38%
#18. Common Grackle
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 23%
- Average group size: 5.39
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Florida: 29%
--- #2. New Jersey: 23%
--- #3. Delaware: 14%
--- #4. Connecticut: 12%
--- #4. Ohio: 12%
#19. Carolina Chickadee
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 18%
- Average group size: 1.53
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alabama: 92%
--- #2. Mississippi: 90%
--- #3. Arkansas: 86%
--- #3. South Carolina: 86%
--- #5. Georgia: 83%
#20. Cooper's Hawk
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 18%
- 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%
