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 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 15 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 Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 80%
- Average group size: 10.02
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Illinois: 90%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Iowa: 87%
--- #4. South Dakota: 80%
--- #5. Indiana: 75%
#2. Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 80%
- Average group size: 4.21
- 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%
#3. House Finch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 73%
- Average group size: 4.21
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 95%
--- #2. Nevada: 94%
--- #3. Utah: 93%
--- #4. Alabama: 91%
--- #5. Arizona: 90%
#4. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 73%
- Average group size: 1.43
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. Missouri: 85%
--- #2. Massachusetts: 85%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #5. Vermont: 81%
#5. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 67%
- Average group size: 4.98
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 95%
--- #2. Oregon: 94%
--- #2. New Jersey: 94%
--- #4. Connecticut: 93%
--- #5. Iowa: 91%
#6. American Robin
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 67%
- Average group size: 2.72
- 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. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 60%
- Average group size: 3.03
- 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%
#8. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 60%
- Average group size: 1.59
- 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%
#9. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 53%
- Average group size: 4.73
- 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%
#10. European Starling
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 47%
- Average group size: 7.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 70%
--- #2. Indiana: 69%
--- #3. Ohio: 63%
--- #4. New Jersey: 62%
--- #5. Nebraska: 61%
#11. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 47%
- Average group size: 1.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 73%
--- #2. Maine: 58%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 58%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 55%
--- #5. Minnesota: 51%
#12. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 47%
- Average group size: 1.18
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 84%
--- #2. Vermont: 81%
--- #3. Maine: 79%
--- #4. Connecticut: 75%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 75%
#13. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 40%
- Average group size: 1.59
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 65%
--- #2. Montana: 61%
--- #2. Nebraska: 61%
--- #4. Washington: 58%
--- #5. Oregon: 49%
#14. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 40%
- Average group size: 1.27
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 79%
--- #2. Washington: 58%
--- #3. Maine: 52%
--- #3. Vermont: 52%
--- #5. Oregon: 49%
#15. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 27%
- Average group size: 1.72
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 100%
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #3. South Carolina: 96%
--- #4. Kentucky: 94%
--- #4. Louisiana: 94%
#16. Purple Finch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 20%
- Average group size: 3.67
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 50%
--- #2. West Virginia: 33%
--- #3. North Carolina: 31%
--- #4. Missouri: 28%
--- #4. Kentucky: 28%
#17. Common Grackle
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 20%
- Average group size: 1.67
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 52%
--- #2. New Jersey: 48%
--- #3. Kansas: 45%
--- #4. Florida: 40%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 40%
#18. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 20%
- Average group size: 1.15
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 78%
--- #2. New Jersey: 75%
--- #3. Nebraska: 73%
--- #4. Florida: 71%
--- #5. West Virginia: 70%
#19. Red-winged Blackbird
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 13%
- Average group size: 7.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Kansas: 54%
--- #1. Illinois: 54%
--- #3. Ohio: 48%
--- #4. Idaho: 45%
--- #4. Delaware: 45%
#20. Cedar Waxwing
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 13%
- Average group size: 4.45
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 20%
--- #2. Oklahoma: 19%
--- #3. Texas: 17%
--- #4. South Dakota: 13%
--- #5. Florida: 12%
