Most commonly seen birds in South Dakota
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in South Dakota using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Jan. 3 to Jan. 16. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 16 count sites in South Dakota. 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. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 81%
- Average group size: 9.75
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Iowa: 89%
--- #1. Illinois: 89%
--- #3. South Dakota: 81%
--- #3. Nebraska: 81%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 78%
#2. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 69%
- Average group size: 5.11
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 96%
--- #2. Delaware: 95%
--- #3. Washington: 94%
--- #3. Oregon: 94%
--- #5. Connecticut: 93%
#3. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 63%
- Average group size: 3.05
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 81%
--- #1. Rhode Island: 81%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 79%
--- #4. Vermont: 78%
--- #4. New York: 78%
#4. Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 56%
- Average group size: 4.37
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. South Dakota: 56%
--- #1. Montana: 56%
--- #3. Wyoming: 55%
--- #4. Utah: 50%
--- #5. Colorado: 48%
#5. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 56%
- Average group size: 4.02
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 83%
--- #2. Maine: 82%
--- #3. Oklahoma: 81%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 73%
--- #5. West Virginia: 71%
#6. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 56%
- Average group size: 1.37
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 90%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 85%
--- #3. Missouri: 84%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 84%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 84%
#7. House Finch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 38%
- Average group size: 3.98
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 96%
--- #2. Utah: 95%
--- #3. Alabama: 94%
--- #4. Arizona: 89%
--- #4. Kentucky: 89%
#8. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 38%
- Average group size: 1.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 68%
--- #2. Washington: 58%
--- #3. Maine: 50%
--- #4. Michigan: 47%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 47%
#9. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 31%
- Average group size: 1.91
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 100%
--- #2. Arkansas: 94%
--- #3. Kentucky: 93%
--- #3. Tennessee: 93%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 93%
#10. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 31%
- Average group size: 1.68
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 64%
--- #2. Nebraska: 53%
--- #3. Washington: 52%
--- #4. Oregon: 51%
--- #5. Montana: 48%
#11. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 31%
- Average group size: 1.61
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 97%
--- #2. Vermont: 95%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 93%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 93%
--- #5. Massachusetts: 88%
#12. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 31%
- Average group size: 1.31
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 69%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 65%
--- #3. Maine: 63%
--- #4. Minnesota: 57%
--- #5. West Virginia: 56%
#13. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 31%
- Average group size: 1.16
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #2. Maine: 79%
--- #3. Vermont: 76%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 74%
--- #5. Connecticut: 73%
#14. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 31%
- Average group size: 1.14
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 81%
--- #2. New Jersey: 73%
--- #3. West Virginia: 71%
--- #4. Ohio: 70%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 70%
#15. European Starling
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 25%
- Average group size: 8.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 53%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 52%
--- #2. Indiana: 52%
--- #4. Delaware: 49%
--- #5. Ohio: 48%
#16. American Robin
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 19%
- Average group size: 2.6
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Tennessee: 47%
--- #2. Delaware: 46%
--- #2. Kentucky: 46%
--- #4. Colorado: 39%
--- #5. New Mexico: 37%
#17. Cedar Waxwing
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 13%
- Average group size: 5.74
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oklahoma: 19%
--- #2. Texas: 14%
--- #3. Kansas: 13%
--- #3. South Dakota: 13%
--- #3. South Carolina: 13%
#18. American Tree Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 13%
- Average group size: 1.96
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 23%
--- #1. Michigan: 23%
--- #3. New York: 21%
--- #3. Vermont: 21%
--- #5. Ohio: 14%
#19. American Crow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 13%
- Average group size: 1.5
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 37%
--- #2. Virginia: 36%
--- #3. Maryland: 34%
--- #4. North Carolina: 29%
--- #4. West Virginia: 29%
#20. Cooper's Hawk
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 13%
- Average group size: 1.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 32%
--- #2. Arizona: 26%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 19%
--- #3. Illinois: 19%
--- #5. Utah: 18%
