Most commonly seen birds in Washington, D.C.
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Washington, D.C. 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 11 count sites in Washington, D.C.. 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 Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 100%
- Average group size: 12.89
- 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%
#2. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 91%
- Average group size: 1.77
- 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%
#3. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 82%
- Average group size: 3.01
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Jersey: 86%
--- #2. Connecticut: 84%
--- #3. Washington, D.C.: 82%
--- #4. Pennsylvania: 81%
--- #5. New York: 78%
#4. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 64%
- Average group size: 2.67
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Iowa: 97%
--- #2. Oregon: 96%
--- #2. New Jersey: 96%
--- #4. Washington: 95%
--- #4. Indiana: 95%
#5. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 55%
- Average group size: 1.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 94%
--- #2. West Virginia: 89%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 86%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 85%
--- #5. North Carolina: 83%
#6. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 45%
- Average group size: 2.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 80%
--- #2. Maryland: 67%
--- #3. Connecticut: 66%
--- #4. New Jersey: 64%
--- #5. Virginia: 62%
#7. House Finch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 36%
- Average group size: 1.75
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 95%
--- #2. New Mexico: 91%
--- #3. Arizona: 90%
--- #4. Utah: 89%
--- #5. Tennessee: 87%
#8. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 36%
- Average group size: 1.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 86%
--- #1. Massachusetts: 86%
--- #3. New York: 83%
--- #4. Vermont: 81%
--- #5. Michigan: 80%
#9. Song Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 36%
- Average group size: 1.25
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 63%
--- #2. Oregon: 48%
--- #3. Pennsylvania: 40%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 37%
--- #5. West Virginia: 36%
#10. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 36%
- Average group size: 1.14
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 82%
--- #2. Connecticut: 80%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 77%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 77%
--- #5. Minnesota: 72%
#11. Carolina Wren
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 36%
- Average group size: 1.05
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 90%
--- #2. Georgia: 82%
--- #3. North Carolina: 78%
--- #4. Alabama: 74%
--- #4. Tennessee: 74%
#12. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 27%
- Average group size: 1.21
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. New Jersey: 77%
--- #3. Indiana: 73%
--- #4. Ohio: 71%
--- #4. Arkansas: 71%
#13. Northern Mockingbird
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 27%
- Average group size: 1.1
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 70%
--- #2. Louisiana: 42%
--- #2. Alabama: 42%
--- #4. South Carolina: 41%
--- #5. Florida: 35%
#14. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 27%
- Average group size: 1.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 90%
--- #2. South Dakota: 89%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 87%
--- #4. Indiana: 83%
--- #5. Minnesota: 82%
#15. European Starling
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 18%
- Average group size: 4.85
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Indiana: 49%
--- #2. Ohio: 44%
--- #3. Nebraska: 41%
--- #4. Illinois: 40%
--- #5. Missouri: 38%
#16. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 18%
- Average group size: 2.51
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wisconsin: 72%
--- #2. Michigan: 71%
--- #3. Ohio: 69%
--- #4. Maine: 67%
--- #5. Indiana: 66%
#17. American Robin
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 18%
- Average group size: 1.58
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 38%
--- #2. New Mexico: 37%
--- #2. Kansas: 37%
--- #4. Tennessee: 35%
--- #4. Nevada: 35%
#18. Cooper's Hawk
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 18%
- Average group size: 1.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 40%
--- #2. Illinois: 25%
--- #3. Arizona: 20%
--- #4. Ohio: 18%
--- #4. New Jersey: 18%
#18. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (tie)
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 18%
- Average group size: 1.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 30%
--- #2. South Carolina: 28%
--- #2. Georgia: 28%
--- #4. California: 22%
--- #5. North Carolina: 21%
#20. American Tree Sparrow
- Sites visited Dec. 6 to Dec. 19: 9%
- Average group size: 8.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Michigan: 30%
--- #2. Vermont: 25%
--- #3. Wisconsin: 23%
--- #4. Iowa: 18%
--- #4. New York: 18%
