Most commonly seen birds in Virginia
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Virginia 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 468 count sites in Virginia. 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 Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 89%
- Average group size: 2.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 100%
--- #2. Arkansas: 94%
--- #3. Kentucky: 93%
--- #3. Tennessee: 93%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 93%
#2. House Finch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 86%
- Average group size: 3.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 96%
--- #2. Utah: 95%
--- #3. Alabama: 94%
--- #4. Arizona: 89%
--- #4. Kentucky: 89%
#3. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 77%
- Average group size: 3.52
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 96%
--- #2. Delaware: 95%
--- #3. Washington: 94%
--- #3. Oregon: 94%
--- #5. Connecticut: 93%
#4. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 76%
- Average group size: 3.66
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. West Virginia: 91%
--- #2. New Jersey: 82%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 81%
--- #4. Kentucky: 80%
--- #5. Tennessee: 79%
#5. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 75%
- Average group size: 1.67
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 93%
--- #1. Rhode Island: 93%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 86%
--- #3. Georgia: 86%
--- #5. North Carolina: 85%
#6. Carolina Wren
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 74%
- Average group size: 1.29
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 82%
--- #2. North Carolina: 80%
--- #2. Alabama: 80%
--- #4. Mississippi: 77%
--- #5. Arkansas: 75%
#7. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 73%
- Average group size: 1.3
- 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%
#8. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 67%
- Average group size: 2.97
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 75%
--- #2. Maryland: 68%
--- #3. Virginia: 67%
--- #4. Connecticut: 61%
--- #5. New Jersey: 60%
#9. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 67%
- Average group size: 2.75
- 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%
#10. Carolina Chickadee
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 61%
- Average group size: 1.75
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alabama: 88%
--- #2. Georgia: 86%
--- #3. Mississippi: 85%
--- #4. Arkansas: 84%
--- #5. South Carolina: 80%
#11. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 59%
- Average group size: 1.1
- 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%
#12. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 58%
- Average group size: 1.25
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #2. Maine: 79%
--- #3. Vermont: 76%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 74%
--- #5. Connecticut: 73%
#13. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 56%
- Average group size: 1.9
- 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%
#14. Eastern Bluebird
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 48%
- Average group size: 2.2
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 65%
--- #2. North Carolina: 60%
--- #3. South Carolina: 56%
--- #4. Tennessee: 48%
--- #4. Virginia: 48%
#15. American Crow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 36%
- Average group size: 2.3
- 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%
#16. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 35%
- Average group size: 3.82
- 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%
#17. American Robin
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 35%
- Average group size: 2.45
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Tennessee: 47%
--- #2. Delaware: 46%
--- #2. Kentucky: 46%
--- #4. Colorado: 39%
--- #5. New Mexico: 37%
#18. Northern Mockingbird
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 35%
- Average group size: 1.11
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Louisiana: 50%
--- #2. Tennessee: 43%
--- #3. Alabama: 39%
--- #4. Mississippi: 38%
--- #5. Georgia: 37%
#19. Song Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 34%
- Average group size: 1.42
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 67%
--- #2. Oregon: 51%
--- #3. West Virginia: 41%
--- #4. Connecticut: 39%
--- #5. Pennsylvania: 36%
#20. European Starling
- Sites visited Jan. 3 to Jan. 16: 28%
- Average group size: 3.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 53%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 52%
--- #2. Indiana: 52%
--- #4. Delaware: 49%
--- #5. Ohio: 48%
