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 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 47 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 Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 66%
- Average group size: 2.56
- 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%
#2. House Finch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 57%
- Average group size: 5.43
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 95%
--- #2. New Mexico: 91%
--- #3. Arizona: 90%
--- #4. Utah: 89%
--- #5. Tennessee: 87%
#3. Black-billed Magpie
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 53%
- Average group size: 2.17
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 53%
--- #2. Alaska: 44%
--- #3. Colorado: 42%
--- #4. Utah: 37%
--- #5. Idaho: 20%
#4. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 49%
- Average group size: 1.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 65%
--- #2. Washington: 55%
--- #3. Nevada: 50%
--- #4. Montana: 49%
--- #5. Oregon: 44%
#5. Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 47%
- Average group size: 3.02
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 78%
--- #2. Nevada: 60%
--- #3. Utah: 50%
--- #3. Colorado: 50%
--- #5. Montana: 47%
#6. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 43%
- Average group size: 1.21
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 90%
--- #2. South Dakota: 89%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 87%
--- #4. Indiana: 83%
--- #5. Minnesota: 82%
#7. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 40%
- Average group size: 5.91
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 72%
--- #2. Michigan: 71%
--- #3. Ohio: 69%
--- #4. Maine: 67%
--- #5. Indiana: 66%
#8. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 36%
- Average group size: 5.43
- 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%
#9. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 34%
- Average group size: 3.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Iowa: 97%
--- #2. Oregon: 96%
--- #2. New Jersey: 96%
--- #4. Washington: 95%
--- #4. Indiana: 95%
#10. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 28%
- Average group size: 1.3
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 78%
--- #2. North Dakota: 60%
--- #3. Washington: 59%
--- #4. South Dakota: 56%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 52%
#11. Mountain Chickadee
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 26%
- Average group size: 1.4
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 49%
--- #2. Nevada: 40%
--- #3. Colorado: 28%
--- #3. Wyoming: 28%
--- #5. Montana: 26%
#12. Pine Siskin
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 23%
- Average group size: 4.14
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 23%
--- #2. New Mexico: 22%
--- #3. Colorado: 11%
--- #3. South Dakota: 11%
--- #5. Iowa: 10%
#13. American Robin
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 23%
- Average group size: 2.44
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 38%
--- #2. New Mexico: 37%
--- #2. Kansas: 37%
--- #4. Tennessee: 35%
--- #4. Nevada: 35%
#14. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 19%
- Average group size: 1.06
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 59%
--- #1. Minnesota: 59%
--- #3. Vermont: 58%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 55%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 52%
#15. American Crow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 17%
- Average group size: 3.2
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 39%
--- #2. Maine: 38%
--- #3. Virginia: 33%
--- #4. Oklahoma: 29%
--- #4. Oregon: 29%
#16. Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 13%
- Average group size: 1.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 13%
--- #2. Idaho: 11%
--- #2. Utah: 11%
--- #4. Delaware: 10%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 8%
#17. European Starling
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 11%
- Average group size: 3.1
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Indiana: 49%
--- #2. Ohio: 44%
--- #3. Nebraska: 41%
--- #4. Illinois: 40%
--- #5. Missouri: 38%
#18. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 11%
- Average group size: 2.18
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 86%
--- #1. Massachusetts: 86%
--- #3. New York: 83%
--- #4. Vermont: 81%
--- #5. Michigan: 80%
#19. Evening Grosbeak
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 9%
- Average group size: 4.88
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 13%
--- #1. Maine: 13%
--- #3. Montana: 9%
--- #4. Vermont: 8%
--- #5. Colorado: 5%
#20. Rock Pigeon
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 9%
- Average group size: 4.01
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 25%
--- #2. Wyoming: 22%
--- #3. Arizona: 18%
--- #4. Utah: 11%
--- #5. New Mexico: 10%
