Rare Birds in Maryland
Our list for Maryland has 73 rare birds recorded regularly there: 5 residents, 10 summer visitors, 20 winter visitors, 36 passage migrants and 2 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in Maryland in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 73, most common first
Purple SandpiperCalidris maritimaWinter visitorRare20–22 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
American Golden-PloverPluvialis dominicaPassage migrantRare24–28 cmRegularly Aug–Oct
Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineusSummer visitorRare13–17 cmRegularly Oct–Jul
Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmusSummer visitorRare28–32 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
White-rumped SandpiperCalidris fuscicollisPassage migrantRare15–18 cmRegularly May–Nov
American AvocetRecurvirostra americanaSummer visitorRare43–51 cmRegularly Feb–Nov
EiderSomateria mollissimaWinter visitorRare50–71 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Great ShearwaterArdenna gravisPassage migrantRare43–51 cmRegularly Jun–Sep
Little AukAlle allePassage migrantRare18–21 cmRegularly Dec–Feb
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisPassage migrantRare36–41 cmRegularly Jun–Oct
Red-necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatusPassage migrantRare18–19 cmRegularly May–Oct
DickcisselSpiza americanaSummer visitorRare14–16 cmRegularly May–Nov
Grey PhalaropePhalaropus fulicariusPassage migrantRare20–22 cmRegularly Oct–Dec
Trumpeter SwanCygnus buccinatorResidentRare139–157 cmRecorded all year
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Dec–Feb
Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifronsWinter visitorRare64–81 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
American BitternBotaurus lentiginosusWinter visitorRare58–85 cmRegularly Sep–May
Yellow-bellied FlycatcherEmpidonax flaviventrisPassage migrantRare13–15 cmRegularly Aug–Sep
Manx ShearwaterPuffinus puffinusPassage migrantRare30–38 cmRegularly Dec
Atlantic PuffinFratercula arcticaPassage migrantRare28–34 cmRegularly Feb
Mute SwanCygnus olorResidentRare140–160 cmRecorded all year
Sandhill CraneAntigone canadensisWinter visitorRare80–122 cmRecorded all year
Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorumSummer visitorRare13–17 cmRegularly May–Sep
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