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 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 10 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 Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 100%
- Average group size: 12.41
- 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%
#2. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 90%
- Average group size: 3.53
- 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%
#3. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 90%
- Average group size: 1.84
- 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. European Starling
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 70%
- Average group size: 4.43
- 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%
#5. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 70%
- Average group size: 2.93
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 98%
--- #2. Washington: 97%
--- #2. Rhode Island: 97%
--- #4. Connecticut: 96%
--- #5. Oregon: 95%
#6. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 70%
- Average group size: 2.85
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 86%
--- #2. Arkansas: 81%
--- #2. Maryland: 81%
--- #4. New Jersey: 78%
--- #5. Virginia: 75%
#7. Song Sparrow
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 70%
- Average group size: 1.42
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington, D.C.: 70%
--- #2. Washington: 69%
--- #3. Rhode Island: 63%
--- #4. West Virginia: 58%
--- #5. Pennsylvania: 53%
#8. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 70%
- Average group size: 1.39
- 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%
#9. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 50%
- Average group size: 2.3
- 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. Northern Mockingbird
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 50%
- Average group size: 1.04
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 62%
--- #2. Tennessee: 58%
--- #3. Louisiana: 52%
--- #4. South Carolina: 51%
--- #5. Washington, D.C.: 50%
#11. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 50%
- Average group size: 1.02
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 93%
--- #2. Connecticut: 85%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 84%
--- #3. Iowa: 84%
--- #5. Minnesota: 83%
#12. House Finch
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 40%
- Average group size: 2.28
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 97%
--- #2. Alabama: 93%
--- #3. Utah: 92%
--- #4. Arkansas: 90%
--- #5. Nevada: 89%
#13. American Robin
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 40%
- Average group size: 1.97
- 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. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 40%
- Average group size: 1.4
- 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%
#15. Carolina Wren
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 40%
- Average group size: 1.03
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. North Carolina: 86%
--- #2. Georgia: 83%
--- #2. South Carolina: 83%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 80%
--- #5. Virginia: 78%
#16. Rock Pigeon
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 20%
- Average group size: 2.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 27%
--- #2. Nevada: 21%
--- #3. Arizona: 20%
--- #3. Washington, D.C.: 20%
--- #5. New Mexico: 17%
#17. American Crow
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 20%
- Average group size: 2.19
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oklahoma: 40%
--- #2. Virginia: 38%
--- #3. Maine: 36%
--- #4. Maryland: 34%
--- #5. Florida: 33%
#18. Cooper's Hawk
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 20%
- Average group size: 1.12
- 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. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 20%
- Average group size: 1.1
- 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%
#19. White-breasted Nuthatch (tie)
- Sites visited Jan. 31 to Feb. 13: 20%
- Average group size: 1.1
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #2. Maine: 80%
--- #3. Vermont: 79%
--- #4. Michigan: 77%
--- #5. Connecticut: 73%
