Most commonly seen birds in Washington
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Washington using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Apr. 18 to Apr. 30. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 203 count sites in Washington. 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 Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 83%
- Average group size: 6.63
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 83%
--- #2. Vermont: 72%
--- #3. Maine: 70%
--- #4. Oregon: 64%
--- #5. New York: 63%
#2. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 72%
- Average group size: 2.19
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 95%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 91%
--- #3. Vermont: 89%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 88%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 88%
#3. House Finch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 68%
- Average group size: 3.58
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 100%
--- #2. Utah: 95%
--- #3. Arizona: 94%
--- #4. Indiana: 93%
--- #4. Delaware: 93%
#4. Spotted Towhee
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 68%
- Average group size: 1.83
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 72%
--- #2. Washington: 68%
--- #3. Oregon: 46%
--- #4. Colorado: 36%
--- #5. California: 32%
#5. Chestnut-backed Chickadee
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 65%
- Average group size: 2.25
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 65%
--- #2. Oregon: 38%
--- #3. California: 35%
--- #4. Alaska: 14%
--- #5. Montana: 3%
#6. Anna's Hummingbird
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 60%
- Average group size: 1.62
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 70%
--- #2. California: 67%
--- #3. Washington: 60%
--- #4. Arizona: 55%
--- #5. Nevada: 19%
#7. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 57%
- Average group size: 1.4
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 61%
--- #2. Maine: 57%
--- #2. Washington: 57%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 36%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 36%
#8. Song Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 55%
- Average group size: 1.49
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 55%
--- #2. Vermont: 46%
--- #2. Pennsylvania: 46%
--- #4. Maine: 45%
--- #4. New York: 45%
#9. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 52%
- Average group size: 1.6
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 56%
--- #2. Washington: 52%
--- #3. Nebraska: 50%
--- #4. Oregon: 45%
--- #5. Montana: 39%
#10. Steller's Jay
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 50%
- Average group size: 2.15
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 50%
--- #2. Oregon: 44%
--- #3. Alaska: 32%
--- #4. Colorado: 22%
--- #5. California: 17%
#11. American Robin
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 50%
- Average group size: 1.9
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. South Dakota: 94%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Kentucky: 83%
--- #4. Illinois: 80%
--- #5. Iowa: 79%
#12. White-crowned Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 48%
- Average group size: 2.07
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 63%
--- #2. Washington: 48%
--- #3. New Mexico: 45%
--- #4. Oregon: 44%
--- #5. Wyoming: 33%
#13. American Crow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 43%
- Average group size: 2.21
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 47%
--- #1. Virginia: 47%
--- #3. Washington: 43%
--- #3. Arkansas: 43%
--- #5. North Carolina: 42%
#14. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 42%
- Average group size: 3.58
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 94%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 89%
--- #2. Vermont: 89%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 86%
--- #5. Nebraska: 84%
#15. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 38%
- Average group size: 1.23
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #2. Connecticut: 89%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 83%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 82%
--- #5. Maine: 80%
#16. Golden-crowned Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 36%
- Average group size: 2.46
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 41%
--- #2. Washington: 36%
--- #3. California: 16%
--- #4. Alaska: 14%
--- #5. Nevada: 6%
#17. Purple Finch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 33%
- Average group size: 2.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 61%
--- #2. Vermont: 53%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 48%
--- #4. West Virginia: 43%
--- #5. New York: 41%
#18. Rufous Hummingbird
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 26%
- Average group size: 1.61
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 34%
--- #2. Washington: 26%
--- #3. California: 12%
--- #4. Alaska: 11%
--- #5. Arizona: 8%
#19. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 24%
- Average group size: 3.54
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 93%
--- #2. New Jersey: 91%
--- #3. Connecticut: 90%
--- #4. Pennsylvania: 89%
--- #5. Kansas: 88%
#20. Red-winged Blackbird
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 22%
- Average group size: 3.8
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 65%
--- #1. New York: 65%
--- #3. Connecticut: 64%
--- #4. Michigan: 62%
--- #5. Indiana: 59%
