Most commonly seen birds in Tennessee
Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in Tennessee using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Feb. 28 to Mar. 13. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 96 count sites in Tennessee. 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. Northern Cardinal
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 91%
- Average group size: 3.09
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 100%
--- #1. Arkansas: 100%
--- #3. South Carolina: 96%
--- #4. Kentucky: 94%
--- #4. Louisiana: 94%
#2. House Finch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 86%
- Average group size: 3.72
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 95%
--- #2. Nevada: 94%
--- #3. Utah: 93%
--- #4. Alabama: 91%
--- #5. Arizona: 90%
#3. Mourning Dove
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 80%
- Average group size: 3.75
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Kentucky: 89%
--- #2. New Jersey: 88%
--- #2. Delaware: 88%
--- #2. Louisiana: 88%
--- #5. Pennsylvania: 83%
#4. Tufted Titmouse
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 73%
- Average group size: 1.86
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Rhode Island: 92%
--- #2. Arkansas: 90%
--- #2. Mississippi: 90%
--- #4. Connecticut: 89%
--- #5. Georgia: 86%
#5. Carolina Chickadee
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 67%
- Average group size: 1.97
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Louisiana: 94%
--- #2. Arkansas: 90%
--- #3. Georgia: 88%
--- #4. South Carolina: 76%
--- #5. North Carolina: 74%
#6. Downy Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 67%
- Average group size: 1.42
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 87%
--- #2. Missouri: 85%
--- #2. Massachusetts: 85%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 82%
--- #5. Vermont: 81%
#7. American Robin
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 60%
- Average group size: 2.37
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 91%
--- #2. Arkansas: 75%
--- #3. Kentucky: 74%
--- #4. Kansas: 71%
--- #5. New Mexico: 68%
#8. Carolina Wren
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 59%
- Average group size: 1.31
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 81%
--- #2. Arkansas: 80%
--- #3. North Carolina: 77%
--- #4. Alabama: 74%
--- #5. Virginia: 65%
#9. Blue Jay
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 57%
- Average group size: 1.74
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 79%
--- #2. Vermont: 73%
--- #3. New Jersey: 72%
--- #4. New York: 71%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 71%
#10. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 55%
- Average group size: 1.13
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Connecticut: 78%
--- #2. New Jersey: 75%
--- #3. Nebraska: 73%
--- #4. Florida: 71%
--- #5. West Virginia: 70%
#11. White-throated Sparrow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 54%
- Average group size: 2.67
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 85%
--- #2. Delaware: 73%
--- #3. Virginia: 70%
--- #4. Maryland: 69%
--- #5. New Jersey: 67%
#12. Dark-eyed Junco
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 52%
- Average group size: 2.75
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 95%
--- #2. Oregon: 94%
--- #2. New Jersey: 94%
--- #4. Connecticut: 93%
--- #5. Iowa: 91%
#13. European Starling
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 51%
- Average group size: 3.53
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Missouri: 70%
--- #2. Indiana: 69%
--- #3. Ohio: 63%
--- #4. New Jersey: 62%
--- #5. Nebraska: 61%
#14. American Goldfinch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 50%
- Average group size: 3.41
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. West Virginia: 88%
--- #2. Vermont: 87%
--- #3. Maine: 85%
--- #4. New Hampshire: 80%
--- #4. Mississippi: 80%
#15. Eastern Bluebird
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 50%
- Average group size: 2.21
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 72%
--- #2. Arkansas: 65%
--- #3. North Carolina: 63%
--- #4. South Carolina: 58%
--- #5. Virginia: 56%
#16. Northern Mockingbird
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 48%
- Average group size: 1.2
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 55%
--- #2. Louisiana: 50%
--- #3. Georgia: 49%
--- #4. Florida: 48%
--- #4. Tennessee: 48%
#17. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 47%
- Average group size: 1.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Hampshire: 84%
--- #2. Vermont: 81%
--- #3. Maine: 79%
--- #4. Connecticut: 75%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 75%
#18. Song Sparrow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 39%
- Average group size: 1.57
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 74%
--- #2. Oregon: 51%
--- #3. New Jersey: 45%
--- #3. Delaware: 45%
--- #5. Rhode Island: 44%
#19. Brown-headed Cowbird
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 35%
- Average group size: 3.26
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 70%
--- #2. Louisiana: 69%
--- #3. South Carolina: 45%
--- #4. Georgia: 41%
--- #5. Alabama: 40%
#20. House Sparrow
- Sites visited Feb. 28 to Mar. 13: 30%
- Average group size: 2.77
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Illinois: 90%
--- #2. Nebraska: 88%
--- #3. Iowa: 87%
--- #4. South Dakota: 80%
--- #5. Indiana: 75%
