Most commonly seen birds in Maryland
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Maryland 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 195 count sites in Maryland. 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. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 90%
- Average group size: 2.54
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 100%
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #3. South Carolina: 96%
--- #4. Kentucky: 94%
--- #4. Louisiana: 94%
#2. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 89%
- Average group size: 4.77
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 95%
--- #2. Oregon: 94%
--- #2. New Jersey: 94%
--- #4. Connecticut: 93%
--- #5. Iowa: 91%
#3. House Finch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 84%
- Average group size: 3.84
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 95%
--- #2. Nevada: 94%
--- #3. Utah: 93%
--- #4. Alabama: 91%
--- #5. Arizona: 90%
#4. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 82%
- Average group size: 3.49
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Kentucky: 89%
--- #2. New Jersey: 88%
--- #2. Delaware: 88%
--- #2. Louisiana: 88%
--- #5. Pennsylvania: 83%
#5. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 74%
- Average group size: 1.38
- 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. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 69%
- Average group size: 3.4
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 85%
--- #2. Delaware: 73%
--- #3. Virginia: 70%
--- #4. Maryland: 69%
--- #5. New Jersey: 67%
#7. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 66%
- Average group size: 1.1
- 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%
#8. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 63%
- Average group size: 1.47
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 92%
--- #2. Arkansas: 90%
--- #2. Mississippi: 90%
--- #4. Connecticut: 89%
--- #5. Georgia: 86%
#9. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 62%
- Average group size: 1.28
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 84%
--- #2. Vermont: 81%
--- #3. Maine: 79%
--- #4. Connecticut: 75%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 75%
#10. European Starling
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 61%
- Average group size: 3.69
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 70%
--- #2. Indiana: 69%
--- #3. Ohio: 63%
--- #4. New Jersey: 62%
--- #5. Nebraska: 61%
#11. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 61%
- Average group size: 3.31
- 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%
#12. Carolina Chickadee
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 61%
- Average group size: 1.59
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Louisiana: 94%
--- #2. Arkansas: 90%
--- #3. Georgia: 88%
--- #4. South Carolina: 76%
--- #5. North Carolina: 74%
#13. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 56%
- Average group size: 1.79
- 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%
#14. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 55%
- Average group size: 4.55
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Illinois: 90%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Iowa: 87%
--- #4. South Dakota: 80%
--- #5. Indiana: 75%
#15. Carolina Wren
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 54%
- Average group size: 1.21
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 81%
--- #2. Arkansas: 80%
--- #3. North Carolina: 77%
--- #4. Alabama: 74%
--- #5. Virginia: 65%
#16. American Robin
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 53%
- Average group size: 3.12
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 91%
--- #2. Arkansas: 75%
--- #3. Kentucky: 74%
--- #4. Kansas: 71%
--- #5. New Mexico: 68%
#17. Eastern Bluebird
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 41%
- Average group size: 2.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 72%
--- #2. Arkansas: 65%
--- #3. North Carolina: 63%
--- #4. South Carolina: 58%
--- #5. Virginia: 56%
#18. American Crow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 37%
- Average group size: 2.18
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 43%
--- #2. Virginia: 41%
--- #3. Maryland: 37%
--- #4. North Carolina: 36%
--- #5. Vermont: 35%
#19. Song Sparrow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 37%
- Average group size: 1.38
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 74%
--- #2. Oregon: 51%
--- #3. New Jersey: 45%
--- #3. Delaware: 45%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 44%
#20. Red-winged Blackbird
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 33%
- Average group size: 3.66
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Kansas: 54%
--- #1. Illinois: 54%
--- #3. Ohio: 48%
--- #4. Idaho: 45%
--- #4. Delaware: 45%
