New Hampshire chose the Purple Finch as its state bird, and unlike most state birds, it genuinely comes to feeders — at 46% of New Hampshire sites, seventeenth on the list. It just has a lot of company ahead of it.
First place goes to the Black-capped Chickadee, at 96.3%.
The twelve birds New Hampshire 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 188 participants in New Hampshire. The percentage is the share of New Hampshire feeder sites that reported the bird at least once.
| # | Bird | Share of NH feeders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black-capped Chickadee | 96.3% |
| 2 | Dark-eyed Junco | 91.5% |
| 3 | Downy Woodpecker | 90.5% |
| 4 | Tufted Titmouse | 90.0% |
| 5 | American Goldfinch | 89.4% |
| 6 | Blue Jay | 88.4% |
| 7 | Northern Cardinal | 84.1% |
| 8 | White-breasted Nuthatch | 81.5% |
| 9 | Mourning Dove | 77.8% |
| 10 | Hairy Woodpecker | 74.1% |
| 11 | American Robin | 60.9% |
| 12 | Eastern Bluebird | 58.2% |
Four things in that list worth knowing
Purple Finch or House Finch?
New Hampshire is one of the few states where the two red finches are about equally common at feeders — House Finch at 52%, Purple Finch at 46%. The male Purple Finch looks dipped in raspberry juice: rosy-red over the head, back and breast, with no heavy brown streaks on the belly. The male House Finch's red is patchier, sitting over brown-streaked sides. Females are easier: a female Purple Finch has a bold white stripe over the eye; a female House Finch has a plain face.
Juncos and goldfinches come in flocks
Dark-eyed Juncos average about eight birds per visit here, and American Goldfinches almost nine — the biggest groups in New Hampshire's top ten. A tray on the ground for the juncos and a nyjer sock for the goldfinches keeps both flocks fed.
Bluebirds in winter
Eastern Bluebird is twelfth, at 58% of feeder sites — more than many people expect in a New England winter. Bluebirds do not eat seed; the ones that stay live on berries, and they will come to mealworms and a heated birdbath.
Two woodpeckers in the top ten
Downy (#3) and Hairy (#10). They look nearly identical — check the bill. On a Downy it is short and stubby; on a Hairy it is nearly as long as the head.
What is on our New Hampshire mug, and where each bird actually ranks
The Backyard Birds of New Hampshire mug shows the Black-capped Chickadee (#1, 96%), the American Goldfinch (#5, 89%), the Blue Jay (#6, 88%) and the Northern Cardinal (#7, 84%). All four are in the New Hampshire top seven.
The ones we would add next are the Dark-eyed Junco (#2) and the state bird, the Purple Finch. They are on the list of designs we still owe this state.
If you want more of them
Black-oil sunflower seed covers the chickadee, titmouse, nuthatch, jay, cardinal and both finches. Suet keeps the woodpeckers coming through a New Hampshire winter. A low tray brings the juncos and doves. Nyjer in a mesh sock holds the goldfinches and siskins.
Where these numbers come from: Project FeederWatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Top 25 Feeder Birds for New Hampshire, 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. Percentages are the share of participating sites that reported the species; group sizes are the average when the bird was seen.
See the mugs for the other states → · Identify a bird in three questions →