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 · Oct
Share of all bird records in Washington in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 67, most common first
Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticoraxResidentRare58–65 cmRecorded all year
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorRare22–26 cmRegularly May–Aug
American Golden-PloverPluvialis dominicaPassage migrantRare24–28 cmRegularly May–Oct
BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorusSummer visitorRare16–20 cmRegularly May–Jul
Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgianaWinter visitorRare12–15 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Pacific Golden-PloverPluvialis fulvaPassage migrantRare23–26 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Western Screech-owlMegascops kennicottiiResidentRare19–25 cmRecorded all year
Leach's Storm-petrelHydrobates leucorhousSummer visitorRare18–21 cmRegularly May–Nov
Blue JayCyanocitta cristataWinter visitorRare25–30 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
American Three-toed WoodpeckerPicoides dorsalisSummer visitorRare21–24 cmRegularly Mar–Oct
Burrowing OwlAthene cuniculariaSummer visitorRare19–25 cmRegularly Mar–Dec
Acorn WoodpeckerMelanerpes formicivorusResidentRare20–24 cmRecorded all year
Black-backed WoodpeckerPicoides arcticusSummer visitorRare21–24 cmRecorded all year
Northern WaterthrushParkesia noveboracensisResidentRare12–15 cmRegularly May–Feb
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorRare62–68 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Hudsonian GodwitLimosa haemasticaPassage migrantRare36–42 cmRegularly May–Sep
Sharp-tailed SandpiperCalidris acuminataPassage migrantRare17–22 cmRegularly Sep–Nov
Flammulated OwlPsiloscops flammeolusSummer visitorRare15–17 cmRegularly May–Jul
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorRare52–64 cmRegularly Aug–Mar
Clay-colored SparrowSpizella pallidaSummer visitorRare13–15 cmRegularly May–Nov
Muscovy DuckCairina moschataResidentRare66–84 cmRecorded all year
Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus variusScarceRare19–22 cm
RuffCalidris pugnaxPassage migrantRare20–32 cmRegularly Aug–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