Most commonly seen birds in Montana
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Montana 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 49 count sites in Montana. 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 Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 80%
- Average group size: 2.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 97%
--- #2. Maine: 96%
--- #3. Vermont: 95%
--- #4. Alaska: 94%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 92%
#2. House Finch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 67%
- Average group size: 5.57
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 95%
--- #2. Nevada: 94%
--- #3. Utah: 93%
--- #4. Alabama: 91%
--- #5. Arizona: 90%
#3. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 61%
- Average group size: 3.47
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 95%
--- #2. Oregon: 94%
--- #2. New Jersey: 94%
--- #4. Connecticut: 93%
--- #5. Iowa: 91%
#4. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 61%
- Average group size: 1.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 65%
--- #2. Montana: 61%
--- #2. Nebraska: 61%
--- #4. Washington: 58%
--- #5. Oregon: 49%
#5. Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 57%
- Average group size: 2.8
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. South Dakota: 80%
--- #2. Wyoming: 73%
--- #3. Utah: 63%
--- #4. Montana: 57%
--- #5. New Mexico: 53%
#6. American Robin
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 57%
- Average group size: 2.38
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 91%
--- #2. Arkansas: 75%
--- #3. Kentucky: 74%
--- #4. Kansas: 71%
--- #5. New Mexico: 68%
#7. Black-billed Magpie
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 55%
- Average group size: 2.52
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 55%
--- #2. Utah: 43%
--- #3. Alaska: 42%
--- #4. Colorado: 35%
--- #5. Nevada: 25%
#8. Pine Siskin
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 51%
- Average group size: 5.04
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 51%
--- #2. Alaska: 30%
--- #3. New Mexico: 28%
--- #4. Colorado: 17%
--- #5. Arizona: 15%
#9. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 49%
- Average group size: 1.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. Missouri: 85%
--- #2. Massachusetts: 85%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #5. Vermont: 81%
#10. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 43%
- Average group size: 7.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Illinois: 90%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Iowa: 87%
--- #4. South Dakota: 80%
--- #5. Indiana: 75%
#11. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 43%
- Average group size: 5.25
- 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. Mountain Chickadee
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 29%
- Average group size: 1.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 39%
--- #2. Nevada: 31%
--- #3. Colorado: 30%
--- #4. Montana: 29%
--- #5. Wyoming: 27%
#13. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 29%
- Average group size: 1.29
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 79%
--- #2. Washington: 58%
--- #3. Maine: 52%
--- #3. Vermont: 52%
--- #5. Oregon: 49%
#14. European Starling
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 27%
- Average group size: 4.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 70%
--- #2. Indiana: 69%
--- #3. Ohio: 63%
--- #4. New Jersey: 62%
--- #5. Nebraska: 61%
#15. Red-winged Blackbird
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 16%
- Average group size: 8.61
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Kansas: 54%
--- #1. Illinois: 54%
--- #3. Ohio: 48%
--- #4. Idaho: 45%
--- #4. Delaware: 45%
#16. American Crow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 16%
- Average group size: 4.1
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 43%
--- #2. Virginia: 41%
--- #3. Maryland: 37%
--- #4. North Carolina: 36%
--- #5. Vermont: 35%
#17. Cassin's Finch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 16%
- Average group size: 2.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 18%
--- #2. Montana: 16%
--- #3. Nevada: 13%
--- #3. Wyoming: 13%
--- #5. Idaho: 8%
#18. Wild Turkey
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 14%
- Average group size: 7.75
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 22%
--- #2. Vermont: 18%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 14%
--- #3. Montana: 14%
--- #5. Wyoming: 13%
#19. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 14%
- Average group size: 1.9
- 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%
#20. Rock Pigeon
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 12%
- Average group size: 3.49
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arizona: 26%
--- #2. Wyoming: 20%
--- #3. New Mexico: 19%
--- #3. Nevada: 19%
--- #5. Montana: 12%
