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 Apr. 18 to Apr. 30. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 268 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. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 87%
- Average group size: 3.59
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 93%
--- #2. New Jersey: 91%
--- #3. Connecticut: 90%
--- #4. Pennsylvania: 89%
--- #5. Kansas: 88%
#2. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 87%
- Average group size: 2.54
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #1. Louisiana: 100%
--- #1. Delaware: 100%
--- #1. Rhode Island: 100%
--- #5. South Carolina: 99%
#3. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 85%
- Average group size: 2.43
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 100%
--- #2. South Dakota: 89%
--- #3. Connecticut: 87%
--- #3. Louisiana: 87%
--- #5. New Jersey: 86%
#4. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 83%
- Average group size: 4.58
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 94%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 89%
--- #2. Vermont: 89%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 86%
--- #5. Nebraska: 84%
#5. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 81%
- Average group size: 2.27
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 95%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 91%
--- #3. Vermont: 89%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 88%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 88%
#6. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 76%
- Average group size: 1.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #2. Connecticut: 89%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 83%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 82%
--- #5. Maine: 80%
#7. American Robin
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 71%
- Average group size: 1.88
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. South Dakota: 94%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Kentucky: 83%
--- #4. Illinois: 80%
--- #5. Iowa: 79%
#8. House Finch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 69%
- Average group size: 3.5
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 100%
--- #2. Utah: 95%
--- #3. Arizona: 94%
--- #4. Indiana: 93%
--- #4. Delaware: 93%
#9. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 67%
- Average group size: 1.15
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 86%
--- #2. Florida: 81%
--- #3. Arkansas: 78%
--- #4. Kansas: 76%
--- #4. New Jersey: 76%
#10. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 66%
- Average group size: 1.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 82%
--- #2. Connecticut: 77%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 72%
--- #4. Vermont: 70%
--- #5. West Virginia: 68%
#11. Red-winged Blackbird
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 62%
- Average group size: 3.02
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 65%
--- #1. New York: 65%
--- #3. Connecticut: 64%
--- #4. Michigan: 62%
--- #5. Indiana: 59%
#12. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 60%
- Average group size: 5.45
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Illinois: 90%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Iowa: 81%
--- #4. Wyoming: 80%
--- #5. Indiana: 79%
#13. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 58%
- Average group size: 4.62
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 83%
--- #2. Vermont: 72%
--- #3. Maine: 70%
--- #4. Oregon: 64%
--- #5. New York: 63%
#14. Common Grackle
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 52%
- Average group size: 3.24
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 73%
--- #2. South Dakota: 72%
--- #3. Connecticut: 67%
--- #4. Nebraska: 66%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 65%
#15. Brown-headed Cowbird
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 51%
- Average group size: 2.08
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 61%
--- #2. West Virginia: 54%
--- #3. Tennessee: 53%
--- #3. Ohio: 53%
--- #5. Connecticut: 52%
#16. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 50%
- Average group size: 1.74
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 93%
--- #2. Arkansas: 91%
--- #3. Maine: 84%
--- #3. Georgia: 84%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 82%
#17. European Starling
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 47%
- Average group size: 3.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. South Dakota: 67%
--- #2. Iowa: 63%
--- #2. Nebraska: 63%
--- #4. Indiana: 60%
--- #4. New Jersey: 60%
#18. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 45%
- Average group size: 1.26
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 62%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 58%
--- #3. Wisconsin: 53%
--- #3. Minnesota: 53%
--- #5. Connecticut: 51%
#19. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 38%
- Average group size: 1.66
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maryland: 82%
--- #2. Delaware: 77%
--- #2. New Jersey: 77%
--- #4. Arkansas: 74%
--- #5. Virginia: 70%
#20. Chipping Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 34%
- Average group size: 1.51
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 66%
--- #2. Maine: 62%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 60%
--- #4. Connecticut: 58%
--- #5. Vermont: 56%
