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 Dec. 24 to Jan. 6. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 246 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.
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#50. Black-billed Magpie
- Average group size: 1.9
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 59%
--- #2. Wyoming: 47%
--- #3. Idaho: 41%
--- #4. Colorado: 38%
--- #5. Alaska: 36%
#49. Wild Turkey
- Average group size: 4.59
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 17%
--- #2. Vermont: 14%
--- #2. Maine: 14%
--- #4. Wyoming: 12%
--- #5. Montana: 10%

#47. Hermit Thrush (tie)
- Average group size: 1.05
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. North Carolina: 18%
--- #2. California: 17%
--- #3. Georgia: 15%
--- #4. Virginia: 13%
--- #5. Alabama: 8%
#47. Brown Creeper
- Average group size: 1.05
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 17%
--- #2. Oklahoma: 12%
--- #3. Maine: 11%
--- #4. Indiana: 10%
--- #5. Maryland: 8%
#46. Red-breasted Sapsucker
- Average group size: 1.06
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 4%
--- #2. Washington: 2%
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#45. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Average group size: 1.18
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 87%
--- #2. West Virginia: 85%
--- #3. Connecticut: 84%
--- #3. Vermont: 84%
--- #5. Massachusetts: 83%

#44. Pacific Wren
- Average group size: 1.21
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 2%
--- #1. Washington: 2%
#43. Band-tailed Pigeon
- Average group size: 5.94
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 6%
--- #2. Washington: 2%
--- #3. Arizona: 1%
--- #3. Oregon: 1%
#42. Red-tailed Hawk
- Average group size: 1.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 20%
--- #2. Mississippi: 9%
--- #3. Tennessee: 6%
--- #3. Connecticut: 6%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 6%

#41. Lesser Goldfinch
- Average group size: 2.4
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 80%
--- #2. California: 59%
--- #3. Utah: 52%
--- #4. Arizona: 47%
--- #5. Oregon: 43%
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#40. Rock Pigeon
- Average group size: 6.93
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 27%
--- #2. South Dakota: 18%
--- #3. Arizona: 17%
--- #4. New Mexico: 16%
--- #5. New York: 6%
#39. White-throated Sparrow
- Average group size: 1.22
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 79%
--- #2. Maryland: 74%
--- #3. New Jersey: 70%
--- #4. Virginia: 68%
--- #5. Delaware: 67%

#38. Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Average group size: 1.46
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Louisiana: 5%
--- #1. Alabama: 5%
--- #3. Washington: 4%
--- #3. North Carolina: 4%
--- #3. Arkansas: 4%

#37. Mountain Chickadee
- Average group size: 1.72
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 44%
--- #2. Colorado: 30%
--- #3. Montana: 28%
--- #4. Nevada: 27%
--- #5. Wyoming: 24%
#36. Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Average group size: 1.01
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Idaho: 16%
--- #2. Missouri: 7%
--- #2. Kansas: 7%
--- #2. Utah: 7%
--- #5. Connecticut: 6%
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#35. Pine Siskin
- Average group size: 2.54
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 39%
--- #2. Colorado: 16%
--- #3. Arizona: 15%
--- #4. Maine: 14%
--- #5. Alabama: 10%

#34. Cooper's Hawk
- Average group size: 1.04
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 33%
--- #2. Arizona: 24%
--- #3. Kentucky: 21%
--- #4. New Jersey: 20%
--- #5. Illinois: 17%
#33. Townsend's Warbler
- Average group size: 1.07
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 19%
--- #2. California: 16%
--- #3. Washington: 7%
#32. Red-winged Blackbird
- Average group size: 5.16
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oklahoma: 35%
--- #2. Mississippi: 27%
--- #3. Colorado: 23%
--- #4. Texas: 20%
--- #5. Utah: 19%
#31. California Quail
- Average group size: 9.83
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 33%
--- #2. Idaho: 20%
--- #3. California: 10%
--- #4. Oregon: 7%
--- #4. Washington: 7%
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#30. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Average group size: 1.11
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 47%
--- #2. South Carolina: 37%
--- #3. Mississippi: 36%
--- #4. Alabama: 33%
--- #5. North Carolina: 32%

#29. Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Average group size: 2.69
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 65%
--- #1. South Dakota: 65%
--- #3. Utah: 63%
--- #4. Idaho: 55%
--- #5. Colorado: 48%
#28. California Scrub-Jay
- Average group size: 1.69
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 53%
--- #2. California: 49%
--- #3. Nevada: 40%
--- #4. Washington: 10%
#27. Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Average group size: 1.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 60%
--- #2. Georgia: 58%
--- #3. South Carolina: 55%
--- #4. North Carolina: 46%
--- #5. Florida: 45%
#26. Pileated Woodpecker
- Average group size: 1.15
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Minnesota: 36%
--- #2. Michigan: 19%
--- #2. Wisconsin: 19%
--- #4. Indiana: 18%
--- #5. West Virginia: 15%
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#25. Purple Finch
- Average group size: 2.43
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 27%
--- #2. Arkansas: 25%
--- #2. Georgia: 25%
--- #4. Missouri: 23%
--- #5. North Carolina: 22%

#24. Hairy Woodpecker
- Average group size: 1.19
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 72%
--- #2. Maine: 69%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 63%
--- #4. Minnesota: 62%
--- #5. Connecticut: 61%

#23. Mourning Dove
- Average group size: 3.78
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. West Virginia: 87%
--- #1. Kentucky: 87%
--- #3. New Jersey: 86%
--- #4. Mississippi: 82%
--- #4. Indiana: 82%
#22. White-crowned Sparrow
- Average group size: 2.43
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 73%
--- #2. California: 69%
--- #3. Arizona: 59%
--- #4. New Mexico: 31%
--- #5. Washington: 20%

#21. House Sparrow
- Average group size: 4.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Iowa: 91%
--- #2. Illinois: 87%
--- #2. Nebraska: 87%
--- #4. Indiana: 80%
--- #5. Ohio: 79%
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#20. Fox Sparrow
- Average group size: 1.55
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 24%
--- #1. Oregon: 24%
--- #3. Oklahoma: 18%
--- #4. California: 15%
--- #5. Kentucky: 10%
#19. American Goldfinch
- Average group size: 4.31
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oklahoma: 79%
--- #2. Missouri: 76%
--- #3. Wisconsin: 75%
--- #3. Arkansas: 75%
--- #5. Maine: 74%
#18. American Crow
- Average group size: 2.51
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oklahoma: 44%
--- #2. Maine: 42%
--- #2. Arkansas: 42%
--- #4. Minnesota: 38%
--- #5. Virginia: 32%
#17. Bushtit
- Average group size: 9.81
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 44%
--- #2. Oregon: 35%
--- #2. Colorado: 35%
--- #4. Washington: 30%
--- #5. Nevada: 27%
#16. Bewick's Wren
- Average group size: 1.05
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 33%
--- #2. California: 31%
--- #3. Texas: 20%
--- #3. New Mexico: 20%
--- #5. Oregon: 14%
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#15. Downy Woodpecker
- Average group size: 1.19
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 92%
--- #2. Connecticut: 91%
--- #2. Minnesota: 91%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 90%
--- #5. Iowa: 88%

#14. European Starling
- Average group size: 4.03
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Indiana: 74%
--- #2. Kentucky: 69%
--- #3. Ohio: 67%
--- #4. Delaware: 64%
--- #5. Missouri: 56%

#13. Golden-crowned Sparrow
- Average group size: 3.04
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 43%
--- #2. Oregon: 36%
--- #3. Washington: 34%
--- #4. Alaska: 11%
--- #5. Nevada: 7%
#12. American Robin
- Average group size: 2.44
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 47%
--- #2. Tennessee: 41%
--- #2. North Carolina: 41%
--- #4. Washington: 39%
--- #4. New Mexico: 39%
#11. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Average group size: 1.32
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 71%
--- #2. Alaska: 61%
--- #3. Washington: 50%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 48%
--- #4. Michigan: 48%
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#10. Varied Thrush
- Average group size: 1.89
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 50%
--- #2. Oregon: 36%
--- #3. Alaska: 14%
--- #4. Idaho: 2%
#9. Chestnut-backed Chickadee
- Average group size: 1.88
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 51%
--- #2. California: 39%
--- #2. Oregon: 39%
--- #4. Alaska: 7%
--- #5. Montana: 3%
#8. Steller's Jay
- Average group size: 2.2
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 53%
--- #2. Oregon: 42%
--- #3. Nevada: 33%
--- #4. Colorado: 21%
--- #5. Alaska: 18%
#7. Song Sparrow
- Average group size: 1.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 57%
--- #2. Kentucky: 54%
--- #3. Oregon: 49%
--- #4. West Virginia: 38%
--- #4. Pennsylvania: 38%

#6. House Finch
- Average group size: 4.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arizona: 91%
--- #2. Kentucky: 87%
--- #3. Colorado: 86%
--- #3. New Mexico: 86%
--- #3. Indiana: 86%
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#5. Northern Flicker
- Average group size: 1.62
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 72%
--- #2. Colorado: 67%
--- #3. Washington: 65%
--- #4. Oregon: 62%
--- #5. Nevada: 53%
#4. Spotted Towhee
- Average group size: 1.91
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 67%
--- #2. Oregon: 66%
--- #3. Nevada: 47%
--- #3. New Mexico: 47%
--- #5. Utah: 44%
#3. Anna's Hummingbird
- Average group size: 1.71
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 70%
--- #1. Washington: 70%
--- #3. California: 65%
--- #4. Arizona: 48%
#2. Black-capped Chickadee
- Average group size: 2.27
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 98%
--- #2. Maine: 96%
--- #2. Massachusetts: 96%
--- #4. Minnesota: 95%
--- #4. Connecticut: 95%

#1. Dark-eyed Junco
- Average group size: 6.88
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 97%
--- #2. Washington: 95%
--- #2. Oregon: 95%
--- #4. Missouri: 92%
--- #4. Delaware: 92%
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