Maryland chose the Baltimore Oriole as its state bird — flame-orange and black, and one of the most striking birds in the East. It is also a summer bird: orioles leave for Central and South America before the feeder season starts, so a winter count never sees them.
The bird that stays is the Northern Cardinal, at 96.2% of Maryland feeders.
The twelve birds Maryland feeders report most
From Project FeederWatch, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's winter count, in which volunteers record what turns up at their own feeders. The 2023–24 season had 384 participants in Maryland — a large sample, so the order near the top is reliable. The percentage is the share of Maryland feeder sites that reported the bird at least once.
| # | Bird | Share of MD feeders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northern Cardinal | 96.2% |
| 2 | Downy Woodpecker | 91.6% |
| 3 | House Finch | 91.3% |
| 4 | Mourning Dove | 91.3% |
| 5 | Tufted Titmouse | 91.3% |
| 6 | Dark-eyed Junco | 91.1% |
| 7 | Carolina Wren | 90.1% |
| 8 | Blue Jay | 84.2% |
| 9 | White-throated Sparrow | 81.9% |
| 10 | Red-bellied Woodpecker | 80.1% |
| 11 | White-breasted Nuthatch | 79.6% |
| 12 | American Goldfinch | 75.8% |
Four things in that list worth knowing
Six birds within two points
From the Downy Woodpecker at #2 (91.6%) to the Carolina Wren at #7 (90.1%), six different birds are packed into a gap of one and a half percentage points — and three of them, House Finch, Mourning Dove and Tufted Titmouse, are tied at exactly 91.33%. On a sample of 384 feeders, that is a genuine dead heat: a Maryland feeder in winter gets all of them.
The smallest woodpecker is second
Downy Woodpecker, at nine out of ten Maryland feeders. It is sparrow-sized, black and white, with a short stubby bill; the male has a small red patch on the back of the head. Suet is what brings it in.
The White-throated Sparrow is ninth
At 82% of feeders — higher than in almost any other state we have looked at. A winter visitor from the north, with a crisp white throat and a yellow spot in front of the eye, usually scratching in the leaves under the feeder.
The chickadee is only fifteenth
Carolina Chickadee, 71% of Maryland feeders. Common, but outnumbered by an unusually long list of regulars ahead of it.
What is on our Maryland mug, and where each bird actually ranks
The Backyard Birds of Maryland mug shows the Northern Cardinal (#1, 96%), the House Finch (#3, 91%), the Mourning Dove (#4, 91%) and the Carolina Wren (#7, 90%). All four are in the Maryland top seven.
The ones we would add next are the Downy Woodpecker (#2) and the Tufted Titmouse (#5). They are on the list of designs we still owe this state.
If you want more of them
Black-oil sunflower seed covers the cardinal, House Finch, titmouse, jay and nuthatch at once. Suet keeps the woodpeckers and the Carolina Wren coming. Millet scattered on a low tray brings the doves, juncos and White-throated Sparrows. And if you want the state bird, put out orange halves and grape jelly in late April, when the orioles come back.
Where these numbers come from: Project FeederWatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Top 25 Feeder Birds for Maryland, 2023–24 season. These are volunteer reports from their own feeders, not a formal survey, and they describe the winter feeding season rather than the whole year — which is why a summer bird like the oriole does not appear. Percentages are the share of participating sites that reported the species.
See the mugs for the other states → · Identify a bird in three questions →