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 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 18 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. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 89%
- Average group size: 4.8
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Iowa: 97%
--- #2. Oregon: 96%
--- #2. New Jersey: 96%
--- #4. Washington: 95%
--- #4. Indiana: 95%
#2. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 89%
- Average group size: 1.32
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 90%
--- #2. South Dakota: 89%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 87%
--- #4. Indiana: 83%
--- #5. Minnesota: 82%
#3. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 78%
- Average group size: 8.23
- 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%
#4. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 67%
- Average group size: 2.96
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 86%
--- #1. Massachusetts: 86%
--- #3. New York: 83%
--- #4. Vermont: 81%
--- #5. Michigan: 80%
#5. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 56%
- Average group size: 1.33
- 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%
#6. House Finch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 50%
- Average group size: 3.78
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 95%
--- #2. New Mexico: 91%
--- #3. Arizona: 90%
--- #4. Utah: 89%
--- #5. Tennessee: 87%
#7. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 50%
- Average group size: 3.02
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 72%
--- #2. Michigan: 71%
--- #3. Ohio: 69%
--- #4. Maine: 67%
--- #5. Indiana: 66%
#8. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 50%
- Average group size: 1.66
- 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%
#9. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 44%
- Average group size: 1.17
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 82%
--- #2. Connecticut: 80%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 77%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 77%
--- #5. Minnesota: 72%
#10. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 44%
- Average group size: 1.11
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. New Jersey: 77%
--- #3. Indiana: 73%
--- #4. Ohio: 71%
--- #4. Arkansas: 71%
#11. Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 39%
- Average group size: 3.63
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 78%
--- #2. Nevada: 60%
--- #3. Utah: 50%
--- #3. Colorado: 50%
--- #5. Montana: 47%
#12. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 39%
- Average group size: 1.56
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 65%
--- #2. Washington: 55%
--- #3. Nevada: 50%
--- #4. Montana: 49%
--- #5. Oregon: 44%
#13. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 39%
- Average group size: 1.3
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 59%
--- #1. Minnesota: 59%
--- #3. Vermont: 58%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 55%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 52%
#14. European Starling
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 33%
- Average group size: 6.49
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Indiana: 49%
--- #2. Ohio: 44%
--- #3. Nebraska: 41%
--- #4. Illinois: 40%
--- #5. Missouri: 38%
#15. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 33%
- Average group size: 2.03
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #2. Alabama: 96%
--- #2. Kentucky: 96%
--- #4. Washington, D.C.: 91%
--- #5. Missouri: 90%
#16. American Crow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 22%
- Average group size: 1.83
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 39%
--- #2. Maine: 38%
--- #3. Virginia: 33%
--- #4. Oklahoma: 29%
--- #4. Oregon: 29%
#17. Red-winged Blackbird
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 17%
- Average group size: 6.99
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 30%
--- #1. Alabama: 30%
--- #3. Colorado: 26%
--- #3. Louisiana: 26%
--- #5. Delaware: 24%
#18. Purple Finch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 17%
- Average group size: 2.81
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. West Virginia: 39%
--- #2. North Carolina: 24%
--- #3. Missouri: 22%
--- #4. Mississippi: 20%
--- #5. Tennessee: 18%
#19. American Tree Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 17%
- Average group size: 1.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Michigan: 30%
--- #2. Vermont: 25%
--- #3. Wisconsin: 23%
--- #4. Iowa: 18%
--- #4. New York: 18%
#20. Cedar Waxwing
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 11%
- Average group size: 4.59
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oklahoma: 21%
--- #2. South Dakota: 11%
--- #3. Mississippi: 10%
--- #4. Arkansas: 9%
--- #5. Alabama: 8%
