Yes. No email, no account, no ads.

How does the "this month" prediction work?

It uses public bird-occurrence records, aggregated by ZIP code and month, so migrants and year-round residents both show up at the right time of year.

Where does the bird data come from?

GBIF and iNaturalist public observation records, filtered to license-clean sources.

How is this different from Merlin or eBird?

Merlin identifies a bird after you've seen or heard it. eBird tracks the checklists birders submit. This tool tells you what's likely at your house this month — before you've spotted anything.

Backyard Birds in Iowa

Enter your Iowa ZIP. See exactly which birds you're likely to spot in your yard this month.

Iowa backyards run on a steady cast of cardinals, goldfinches, and Blue Jays, with the Mississippi and Missouri rivers funneling migrants down both edges of the state every spring and fall.

Most 'backyard birds' lists are national and generic. This one is neither. It maps public, license-clean bird-occurrence records to your exact ZIP code and weights them by month, so you see what's realistically at your feeder in Iowa right now — not a list of birds that might turn up somewhere in the country someday.

Enter your Iowa ZIP code in the tool below. You'll get a ranked list of the birds most likely in your yard this month, common ones first. Free, no email, no account. The list shifts as the seasons turn.

Common backyard birds in Iowa

These are the birds you're most likely to see in a yard in this region at some point in the year. Your ZIP-specific list will show which are near you and which are likely this month.

Northern Cardinal — Year-round resident. Bright red male, warm brown female; a feeder staple.
Blue Jay — Bold blue-and-white. Loud, smart, caches acorns through fall.
Black-capped Chickadee — Tiny, fearless, black cap and bib. First to find a new feeder.
American Goldfinch — Bright yellow in summer, olive in winter. Nyjer-feeder regular.
House Finch — Streaky brown; males red-washed. Year-round, cheerful warble.
Downy Woodpecker — Smallest woodpecker. Suet feeder regular all year.
Red-bellied Woodpecker — Barred back, red cap. Increasingly common at Midwest feeders.
White-breasted Nuthatch — Walks headfirst down tree trunks. Nasal call.
Dark-eyed Junco — Winter feeder regular. Slate-gray with white outer tail feathers.
Mourning Dove — Widespread and constant. Soft cooing year-round.
American Robin — Lawn-hunting thrush. Often the first sign of spring.
American Crow — Big, smart, social. Family groups work yards and fields year-round.

The tool will show which of these (and many more) are realistic at your exact ZIP, with a seasonal weight so you know what's likely right now.

This is a regional overview. For your exact yard:

Enter your Iowa ZIP code. The tool ranks the birds actually likely at your feeder this month, where you live, not a generic national list.

What's your ZIP code?

We'll show you the birds you can expect near you right now, from feeder regulars to the ones that just pass through.

US ZIP code Month

Free. No email required. Works for any US ZIP code.

Better With Birds

Shop the birds you love

If you're already this into your Iowa backyard birds, you're going to like the apparel, prints, and stickers we've designed around them.

Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, American Goldfinch — all illustrated and designed by Jaymi at Better With Birds. Made-to-order, never mass-printed.