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 Jan. 31 to Feb. 13. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 62 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. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 85%
- Average group size: 10.92
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington, D.C.: 100%
--- #2. Illinois: 89%
--- #3. Iowa: 85%
--- #4. Indiana: 77%
--- #5. Ohio: 75%
#2. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 84%
- Average group size: 1.52
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 93%
--- #2. Connecticut: 85%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 84%
--- #3. Iowa: 84%
--- #5. Minnesota: 83%
#3. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 77%
- Average group size: 4.71
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 98%
--- #2. Washington: 97%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 97%
--- #4. Connecticut: 96%
--- #5. Oregon: 95%
#4. House Finch
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 74%
- Average group size: 4.15
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 97%
--- #2. Alabama: 93%
--- #3. Utah: 92%
--- #4. Arkansas: 90%
--- #5. Nevada: 89%
#5. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 73%
- Average group size: 2.65
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 100%
--- #2. Tennessee: 96%
--- #3. Kentucky: 95%
--- #3. Ohio: 95%
--- #3. West Virginia: 95%
#6. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 58%
- Average group size: 1.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #2. Maine: 80%
--- #3. Vermont: 79%
--- #4. Michigan: 77%
--- #5. Connecticut: 73%
#7. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 58%
- Average group size: 1.15
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 79%
--- #1. New Jersey: 79%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 77%
--- #4. West Virginia: 76%
--- #5. Ohio: 74%
#8. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 56%
- Average group size: 1.85
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 96%
--- #2. Maine: 95%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 90%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 90%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 88%
#9. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 55%
- Average group size: 2.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Jersey: 84%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 83%
--- #3. Ohio: 82%
--- #4. West Virginia: 79%
--- #5. New York: 78%
#10. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 45%
- Average group size: 3.27
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 87%
--- #1. West Virginia: 87%
--- #3. Vermont: 78%
--- #3. Louisiana: 78%
--- #5. Arkansas: 77%
#11. European Starling
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 40%
- Average group size: 5.1
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Indiana: 80%
--- #2. Ohio: 78%
--- #3. Kentucky: 77%
--- #4. Washington, D.C.: 70%
--- #5. Missouri: 68%
#12. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 31%
- Average group size: 2.28
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 86%
--- #2. Arkansas: 81%
--- #2. Maryland: 81%
--- #4. New Jersey: 78%
--- #5. Virginia: 75%
#13. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 27%
- Average group size: 2.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington, D.C.: 90%
--- #2. West Virginia: 89%
--- #3. New Jersey: 86%
--- #3. South Carolina: 86%
--- #5. Louisiana: 83%
#14. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 24%
- Average group size: 1.17
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 66%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 64%
--- #3. Maine: 58%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 55%
--- #5. Minnesota: 54%
#15. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 23%
- Average group size: 1.18
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 64%
--- #2. Washington: 58%
--- #3. Maine: 54%
--- #4. Michigan: 47%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 46%
#16. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 21%
- Average group size: 1.25
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 70%
--- #2. Montana: 64%
--- #3. Washington: 57%
--- #4. South Dakota: 53%
--- #5. Oregon: 49%
#17. American Robin
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 19%
- Average group size: 2.39
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 64%
--- #2. Kansas: 58%
--- #3. Georgia: 54%
--- #4. New Mexico: 50%
--- #4. Kentucky: 50%
#18. American Tree Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 13%
- Average group size: 1.87
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Ohio: 29%
--- #2. Michigan: 28%
--- #3. New York: 24%
--- #3. Indiana: 24%
--- #5. Vermont: 20%
#19. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 11%
- Average group size: 1.46
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 89%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 87%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 85%
--- #4. North Carolina: 84%
--- #5. Vermont: 83%
#20. Eurasian Tree Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 10%
- Average group size: 4.47
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 27%
--- #2. Iowa: 10%
--- #3. Illinois: 4%
