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Records 2019–2024 · GBIF

Birds in Nova Scotia

Our list for Nova Scotia has 219 bird species recorded regularly there: 43 residents, 67 summer visitors, 52 winter visitors, 49 passage migrants and 8 scarce visitors

The list comes from 4.3 million birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.

Species on our list
219
In October
149
Common
77
Busiest month
May

What's special about Nova Scotia

vs Canada

The birds recorded far more often here than across Canada, as a share of all bird records. These are the ones Nova Scotia is worth visiting for.

  1. Great CormorantGreat Cormorant10.0×Winter visitor · 0.25% of records here, 0.02% across Canada
  2. Common PheasantCommon Pheasant9.9×Resident · 1.3% of records here, 0.13% across Canada
  3. Great ShearwaterGreat Shearwater9.1×Passage migrant · 0.09% of records here, 0.01% across Canada
  4. Leach's Storm-petrelLeach's Storm-petrel8.0×Summer visitor · 0.05% of records here, 0.01% across Canada
  5. Little AukLittle Auk7.1×Winter visitor · 0.04% of records here, 0.01% across Canada
  6. EiderEider6.3×Resident · 1.4% of records here, 0.22% across Canada
  7. WilletWillet6.1×Summer visitor · 0.44% of records here, 0.07% across Canada
  8. Black-headed GullBlack-headed Gull5.9×Winter visitor · 0.07% of records here, 0.01% across Canada

This month: October

GBIF · Oct

Most likely

  1. American CrowAmerican Crow5.80%
  2. Blue JayBlue Jay4.95%
  3. Song SparrowSong Sparrow4.62%
  4. American Herring GullAmerican Herring Gull4.06%
  5. Common StarlingCommon Starling3.17%
  6. American RobinAmerican Robin2.81%

Arriving now

  1. Red-breasted MerganserRed-breasted MerganserWinter visitorSep 0.07% → Oct 0.27%
  2. Red-throated LoonRed-throated LoonWinter visitorSep 0.03% → Oct 0.26%
  3. Orange-crowned WarblerOrange-crowned WarblerWinter visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.19%
  4. Horned LarkHorned LarkWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.12%
  5. Long-tailed DuckLong-tailed DuckWinter visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.08%
  6. Greater ScaupGreater ScaupWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.08%

Share of all bird records in Nova Scotia in October, 2019–2024. “Arriving now” are the birds whose share rises most from last month. Each month links to that month’s page.

Near you this week

The birds most likely around your town or postcode right now, from the same records, for a square about 9 km across.

The bird calendar for Nova Scotia

Month by month

When each bird is around, through the year. The darker the square, the closer that month is to the bird’s busiest. Filter by summer or winter visitors to see the seasons turn over.

The year in Nova Scotia

Records by month
Bird records in Nova Scotia by month, 2019–2024
January270,790
February215,974
March241,603
April360,402
May630,831
June477,554
July395,285
August403,315
September434,107
October332,918
November222,371
December272,654

May has the most records (631,000). Records follow birdwatchers as well as birds: a busy month means more people out looking, as well as more birds passing through.

By family

12 of 29
All 29 families in Nova Scotia

How common

More of Canada

All of Canada

All 219 birds, A to Z

Show all 219 birds

Questions

4

What birds is Nova Scotia known for?

Compared with the rest of Canada, Nova Scotia stands out for Great Cormorant, Common Pheasant, Great Shearwater and Leach's Storm-petrel. Each is recorded at least 7.9 times as often here as across Canada, as a share of all bird records (2019–2024).

How many birds are on Birdfact's list for Nova Scotia?

219 species, each recorded regularly in Nova Scotia (in at least 3 of the 6 years 2019–2024): 43 residents, 67 summer visitors, 52 winter visitors, 49 passage migrants and 8 scarce visitors. The list includes only birds with a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur in Nova Scotia, and rarer vagrants are not listed.

What birds can I see in Nova Scotia in October?

149 species on our list for Nova Scotia are recorded regularly in October. Of these, the most often recorded are American Crow, Blue Jay, Song Sparrow, American Herring Gull and Common Starling.

What are the most common birds in Nova Scotia?

Of the birds on our list, the ones birdwatchers record most often in Nova Scotia are American Crow, Song Sparrow, American Herring Gull, Blue Jay and American Robin.

Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made

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