Rare Birds in Washington
Our list for Washington has 67 rare birds recorded regularly there: 11 residents, 15 summer visitors, 16 winter visitors, 20 passage migrants and 5 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Washington in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 67, most common first
Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellusResidentRare41–50 cmRecorded all year
Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresWinter visitorRare21–24 cmRegularly Jul–May
Williamson's SapsuckerSphyrapicus thyroideusSummer visitorRare21–25 cmRegularly Mar–Sep
Long-tailed JaegerStercorarius longicaudusPassage migrantRare48–58 cmRegularly May–Sep
Common RedpollAcanthis flammeaWinter visitorRare12–14 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
ChukarAlectoris chukarResidentRare32–38 cmRecorded all year
Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicusWinter visitorRare15–16 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicusWinter visitorRare17–21 cmRecorded all year
Northern Pygmy-owlGlaucidium gnomaResidentRare15–17 cmRecorded all year
Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopusPassage migrantRare18–23 cmRegularly Aug–Sep
Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimusSummer visitorRare12–14 cmRegularly May–Jul
Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalisWinter visitorRare15–18 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Bohemian WaxwingBombycilla garrulusWinter visitorRare19–23 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Red KnotCalidris canutusPassage migrantRare23–26 cmRegularly Apr–Dec
White-headed WoodpeckerPicoides albolarvatusResidentRare20–23 cmRecorded all year
American Tree SparrowSpizelloides arboreaWinter visitorRare14–17 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Whooper SwanCygnus cygnusPassage migrantRare140–165 cmRegularly Feb–Mar
Snowy OwlBubo scandiacusWinter visitorRare52–71 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Bar-tailed GodwitLimosa lapponicaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Jul–Nov
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaWinter visitorRare37–41 cmRegularly Sep–Jul
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSummer visitorRare33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanSummer visitorRare32–36 cmRegularly May–Dec
Grey PartridgePerdix perdixResidentRare28–32 cmRecorded all year
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