Most commonly seen birds in Massachusetts

Written by:
May 7, 2026
Angela Lock // Shutterstock

Most commonly seen birds in Massachusetts

compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Massachusetts 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 282 count sites in Massachusetts. 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: 94%
- Average group size: 2.13
- 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. Black-capped Chickadee
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 88%
- Average group size: 2.12
- 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. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 86%
- Average group size: 3.61
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Delaware: 93%
--- #2. New Jersey: 91%
--- #3. Connecticut: 90%
--- #4. Pennsylvania: 89%
--- #5. Kansas: 88%

#4. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 83%
- Average group size: 1.52
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #2. Connecticut: 89%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 83%
--- #4. Rhode Island: 82%
--- #5. Maine: 80%

#5. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 80%
- Average group size: 2.54
- 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%

#6. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 79%
- Average group size: 2.13
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 93%
--- #2. Arkansas: 91%
--- #3. Maine: 84%
--- #3. Georgia: 84%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 82%

#7. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 78%
- Average group size: 4.28
- 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. House Finch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 77%
- Average group size: 2.94
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 100%
--- #2. Utah: 95%
--- #3. Arizona: 94%
--- #4. Indiana: 93%
--- #4. Delaware: 93%

#9. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 72%
- Average group size: 1.32
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 82%
--- #2. Connecticut: 77%
--- #3. Massachusetts: 72%
--- #4. Vermont: 70%
--- #5. West Virginia: 68%

#10. American Robin
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 68%
- Average group size: 1.89
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. South Dakota: 94%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Kentucky: 83%
--- #4. Illinois: 80%
--- #5. Iowa: 79%

#11. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 65%
- Average group size: 1.1
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 86%
--- #2. Florida: 81%
--- #3. Arkansas: 78%
--- #4. Kansas: 76%
--- #4. New Jersey: 76%

#12. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 61%
- Average group size: 5.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Illinois: 90%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Iowa: 81%
--- #4. Wyoming: 80%
--- #5. Indiana: 79%

#13. Common Grackle
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 55%
- Average group size: 3.63
- 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%

#14. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 52%
- Average group size: 1.96
- 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. Red-winged Blackbird
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 51%
- Average group size: 3.12
- 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%

#16. Chipping Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 48%
- Average group size: 1.6
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 66%
--- #2. Maine: 62%
--- #3. New Hampshire: 60%
--- #4. Connecticut: 58%
--- #5. Vermont: 56%

#17. European Starling
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 46%
- Average group size: 3.63
- 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%

#18. Song Sparrow
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 45%
- Average group size: 1.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 55%
--- #2. Vermont: 46%
--- #2. Pennsylvania: 46%
--- #4. Maine: 45%
--- #4. New York: 45%

#19. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 39%
- Average group size: 4.81
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 83%
--- #2. Vermont: 72%
--- #3. Maine: 70%
--- #4. Oregon: 64%
--- #5. New York: 63%

#20. Brown-headed Cowbird
- Sites visited Apr. 18 to Apr. 30: 34%
- Average group size: 2.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 61%
--- #2. West Virginia: 54%
--- #3. Tennessee: 53%
--- #3. Ohio: 53%
--- #5. Connecticut: 52%

Trending Now