Most commonly seen birds in Iowa
compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Iowa using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's . 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 43 count sites in Iowa. 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 .
Read on to see which birds are most commonly seen in your state.
#1. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 91%
- Average group size: 2.51
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #1. Louisiana: 100%
--- #1. Delaware: 100%
--- #1. Rhode Island: 100%
--- #5. South Carolina: 99%
#2. House Finch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 88%
- Average group size: 3.97
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 100%
--- #2. Utah: 95%
--- #3. Arizona: 94%
--- #4. Indiana: 93%
--- #4. Delaware: 93%
#3. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 81%
- Average group size: 8.98
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Illinois: 90%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Iowa: 81%
--- #4. Wyoming: 80%
--- #5. Indiana: 79%
#4. American Robin
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 79%
- Average group size: 2.08
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. South Dakota: 94%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Kentucky: 83%
--- #4. Illinois: 80%
--- #5. Iowa: 79%
#5. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 77%
- Average group size: 1.49
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #2. Connecticut: 89%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 83%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 82%
--- #5. Maine: 80%
#6. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 74%
- Average group size: 2.25
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 93%
--- #2. New Jersey: 91%
--- #3. Connecticut: 90%
--- #4. Pennsylvania: 89%
--- #5. Kansas: 88%
#7. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 72%
- Average group size: 3.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 94%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 89%
--- #2. Vermont: 89%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 86%
--- #5. Nebraska: 84%
#8. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 72%
- Average group size: 2.23
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 100%
--- #2. South Dakota: 89%
--- #3. Connecticut: 87%
--- #3. Louisiana: 87%
--- #5. New Jersey: 86%
#9. European Starling
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 63%
- Average group size: 4.74
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. South Dakota: 67%
--- #2. Iowa: 63%
--- #2. Nebraska: 63%
--- #4. Indiana: 60%
--- #4. New Jersey: 60%
#10. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 63%
- Average group size: 1.16
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 86%
--- #2. Florida: 81%
--- #3. Arkansas: 78%
--- #4. Kansas: 76%
--- #4. New Jersey: 76%
#11. Red-winged Blackbird
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 51%
- Average group size: 3.15
- 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%
#12. Brown-headed Cowbird
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 47%
- Average group size: 2.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 61%
--- #2. West Virginia: 54%
--- #3. Tennessee: 53%
--- #3. Ohio: 53%
--- #5. Connecticut: 52%
#13. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 47%
- Average group size: 1.36
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 82%
--- #2. Connecticut: 77%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 72%
--- #4. Vermont: 70%
--- #5. West Virginia: 68%
#14. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 42%
- Average group size: 2.28
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maryland: 82%
--- #2. Delaware: 77%
--- #2. New Jersey: 77%
--- #4. Arkansas: 74%
--- #5. Virginia: 70%
#15. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 42%
- Average group size: 1.83
- 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%
#16. Common Grackle
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 37%
- Average group size: 2.88
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 73%
--- #2. South Dakota: 72%
--- #3. Connecticut: 67%
--- #4. Nebraska: 66%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 65%
#17. Chipping Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 35%
- Average group size: 1.49
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 66%
--- #2. Maine: 62%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 60%
--- #4. Connecticut: 58%
--- #5. Vermont: 56%
#18. Hairy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 33%
- Average group size: 1.14
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 62%
--- #2. New Hampshire: 58%
--- #3. Wisconsin: 53%
--- #3. Minnesota: 53%
--- #5. Connecticut: 51%
#19. Purple Finch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 26%
- Average group size: 3.51
- 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%
#20. White-crowned Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 26%
- Average group size: 1.33
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 63%
--- #2. Washington: 48%
--- #3. New Mexico: 45%
--- #4. Oregon: 44%
--- #5. Wyoming: 33%
