Most commonly seen birds in North Carolina
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in North Carolina using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Nov. 8 to Nov. 21. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 287 count sites in North Carolina. 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 Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 80%
- Average group size: 2.17
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Kentucky: 93%
--- #2. Mississippi: 91%
--- #3. Alabama: 89%
--- #4. Arkansas: 88%
--- #5. Tennessee: 84%
#2. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 78%
- Average group size: 1.87
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 95%
--- #2. Massachusetts: 87%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 85%
--- #3. Maine: 85%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 84%
#3. Carolina Chickadee
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 74%
- Average group size: 1.93
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 91%
--- #2. Alabama: 87%
--- #3. Louisiana: 77%
--- #4. Arkansas: 76%
--- #5. Georgia: 75%
#4. House Finch
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 70%
- Average group size: 2.81
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 87%
--- #2. Arizona: 85%
--- #3. Colorado: 84%
--- #4. West Virginia: 83%
--- #5. Indiana: 81%
#5. Carolina Wren
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 70%
- Average group size: 1.29
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 91%
--- #2. Georgia: 71%
--- #3. North Carolina: 70%
--- #4. Alabama: 68%
--- #5. Virginia: 66%
#6. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 61%
- Average group size: 3.06
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 81%
--- #2. Connecticut: 80%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 79%
--- #4. New Jersey: 78%
--- #5. New York: 75%
#7. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 55%
- Average group size: 1.24
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. Massachusetts: 85%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 79%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 79%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 78%
#8. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 48%
- Average group size: 2.14
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 64%
--- #2. Connecticut: 59%
--- #3. New Jersey: 58%
--- #4. Arkansas: 56%
--- #5. Alabama: 55%
#9. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 44%
- Average group size: 1.69
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 93%
--- #1. Oregon: 93%
--- #3. Connecticut: 86%
--- #4. New Jersey: 85%
--- #5. New York: 84%
#10. Eastern Bluebird
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 43%
- Average group size: 2.1
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 50%
--- #2. South Carolina: 45%
--- #3. North Carolina: 43%
--- #4. Tennessee: 36%
--- #5. Arkansas: 35%
#11. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 42%
- Average group size: 1.28
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 83%
--- #1. Maine: 83%
--- #1. Massachusetts: 83%
--- #4. Connecticut: 82%
--- #5. Vermont: 76%
#12. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 36%
- Average group size: 1.11
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 70%
--- #2. Indiana: 70%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 69%
--- #5. Michigan: 67%
#13. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 31%
- Average group size: 1.8
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Massachusetts: 92%
--- #2. Connecticut: 91%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 91%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 90%
--- #5. Vermont: 88%
#14. Brown-headed Nuthatch
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 31%
- Average group size: 1.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alabama: 42%
--- #2. Georgia: 41%
--- #3. North Carolina: 31%
--- #4. South Carolina: 30%
--- #5. Tennessee: 6%
#15. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 30%
- Average group size: 1.76
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 73%
--- #1. Michigan: 73%
--- #3. West Virginia: 72%
--- #4. Minnesota: 66%
--- #4. Maine: 66%
#16. American Robin
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 28%
- Average group size: 2.07
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 46%
--- #2. Nevada: 43%
--- #3. Missouri: 41%
--- #3. Colorado: 41%
--- #5. Kansas: 40%
#17. Northern Mockingbird
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 27%
- Average group size: 1.19
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Louisiana: 55%
--- #2. Florida: 41%
--- #3. Texas: 38%
--- #4. Alabama: 36%
--- #5. South Carolina: 34%
#18. American Crow
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 25%
- Average group size: 2.53
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 42%
--- #2. Wyoming: 38%
--- #3. Oklahoma: 37%
--- #4. Oregon: 29%
--- #4. Washington: 29%
#19. Chipping Sparrow
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 24%
- Average group size: 2.37
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. South Carolina: 43%
--- #2. Georgia: 37%
--- #3. Alabama: 32%
--- #4. North Carolina: 24%
--- #5. Texas: 23%
#20. Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Sites visited Nov. 8 to Nov. 21: 24%
- Average group size: 1.75
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Louisiana: 41%
--- #2. California: 36%
--- #3. South Carolina: 31%
--- #4. Mississippi: 27%
--- #4. Nevada: 27%
