Most commonly seen birds in Illinois
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Illinois using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Jan. 31 to Feb. 13. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 204 count sites in Illinois. 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 Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 95%
- Average group size: 4.55
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 98%
--- #2. Washington: 97%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 97%
--- #4. Connecticut: 96%
--- #5. Oregon: 95%
#2. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 89%
- Average group size: 10.67
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington, D.C.: 100%
--- #2. Illinois: 89%
--- #3. Iowa: 85%
--- #4. Indiana: 77%
--- #5. Ohio: 75%
#3. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 84%
- Average group size: 2.63
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 100%
--- #2. Tennessee: 96%
--- #3. Kentucky: 95%
--- #3. Ohio: 95%
--- #3. West Virginia: 95%
#4. House Finch
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 80%
- Average group size: 4.1
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 97%
--- #2. Alabama: 93%
--- #3. Utah: 92%
--- #4. Arkansas: 90%
--- #5. Nevada: 89%
#5. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 76%
- Average group size: 3.74
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington, D.C.: 90%
--- #2. West Virginia: 89%
--- #3. New Jersey: 86%
--- #3. South Carolina: 86%
--- #5. Louisiana: 83%
#6. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 75%
- Average group size: 1.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 93%
--- #2. Connecticut: 85%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 84%
--- #3. Iowa: 84%
--- #5. Minnesota: 83%
#7. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 67%
- Average group size: 1.15
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 79%
--- #1. New Jersey: 79%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 77%
--- #4. West Virginia: 76%
--- #5. Ohio: 74%
#8. European Starling
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 62%
- Average group size: 4.08
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Indiana: 80%
--- #2. Ohio: 78%
--- #3. Kentucky: 77%
--- #4. Washington, D.C.: 70%
--- #5. Missouri: 68%
#9. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 56%
- Average group size: 3.63
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 87%
--- #1. West Virginia: 87%
--- #3. Vermont: 78%
--- #3. Louisiana: 78%
--- #5. Arkansas: 77%
#10. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 55%
- Average group size: 1.8
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Jersey: 84%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 83%
--- #3. Ohio: 82%
--- #4. West Virginia: 79%
--- #5. New York: 78%
#11. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 55%
- Average group size: 1.29
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #2. Maine: 80%
--- #3. Vermont: 79%
--- #4. Michigan: 77%
--- #5. Connecticut: 73%
#12. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 50%
- Average group size: 1.68
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 96%
--- #2. Maine: 95%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 90%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 90%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 88%
#13. American Robin
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 34%
- Average group size: 1.93
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 64%
--- #2. Kansas: 58%
--- #3. Georgia: 54%
--- #4. New Mexico: 50%
--- #4. Kentucky: 50%
#14. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 33%
- Average group size: 1.26
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 64%
--- #2. Washington: 58%
--- #3. Maine: 54%
--- #4. Michigan: 47%
--- #5. Wisconsin: 46%
#15. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 32%
- Average group size: 1.17
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Vermont: 66%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 64%
--- #3. Maine: 58%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 55%
--- #5. Minnesota: 54%
#16. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 26%
- Average group size: 2.27
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 86%
--- #2. Arkansas: 81%
--- #2. Maryland: 81%
--- #4. New Jersey: 78%
--- #5. Virginia: 75%
#17. Northern Flicker
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 18%
- Average group size: 1.22
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 70%
--- #2. Montana: 64%
--- #3. Washington: 57%
--- #4. South Dakota: 53%
--- #5. Oregon: 49%
#18. Cooper's Hawk
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 17%
- Average group size: 1.01
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 42%
--- #2. Washington, D.C.: 20%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 17%
--- #3. Illinois: 17%
--- #5. Massachusetts: 16%
#19. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 16%
- Average group size: 1.56
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 89%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 87%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 85%
--- #4. North Carolina: 84%
--- #5. Vermont: 83%
#20. American Tree Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 15%
- Average group size: 2.05
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Ohio: 29%
--- #2. Michigan: 28%
--- #3. New York: 24%
--- #3. Indiana: 24%
--- #5. Vermont: 20%
