Virginia Month Listing: October 2026

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October is the month Virginia has achieved the highest level of species diversity across our birding history, so it is a month we all look forward to each year. A combination of the later portions of passerine migration, the early-to-mid phase of waterbird migration, plenty of shorebirds and perhaps most importantly, a few vagrants from the north, south and west typically keep birders on their toes throughout the month. Prior to 2026, there had been accepted records for 392 species input to eBird for Virginia with 352 of those occurring in the prior decade (2016–25), and it is exciting to say that this current October added to that total. Throughout the 31 days of October, 288 species produced accepted records in eBird for the state, 235 of which were species that had been recorded every October throughout the prior decade, and 53 of which were recorded less than annually over that span purely during the month of October. We ended up above the prior 10-year average value of 279 species recorded during Octobers (the prior 10-year median value was 279.5, for those who like to compare medians instead of averages). The prior decade of Octobers ranged from a low of 266 species in 2016 up to a high of 293 species in 2025. Clearly, any monthly iteration can vary depending on the weather, and a lot of other factors. Gulls & Terns produced the highest total (15 species) for that group compared to the prior 10-year Octobers mark of 14. Waders also tied the high mark of 14 species. Other groups were all within the range of the prior ten Octobers.

To showcase some of the unusual species documented in the state this month, the following is a list of the species that were recorded to eBird in October 2026 that were recorded in less than ten of the prior ten Octobers. Clicking on a species name will load up the October 2026 map in eBird, so records can be easily viewed. Please note that this is solely based on eBird records, and this isn’t an analysis of what “should/shouldn’t” be present in the state during October. Subspecies, slashes & spuhs were not investigated. This is simply intended to be an enjoyable look at what was recorded this month across the state in comparison to prior Octobers; it’s not scientific, but it helps to showcase some of the unusual records based on time of year, and 38 total cities/counties are represented by records here as well. Please enjoy!

Five species observed in Oct 2026 had not been recorded to eBird in any of the prior ten Octobers:

  • Crested Caracara (Culpeper & Rockingham; these are the first October records for the state according to eBird; species was not recorded in Virginia at the time of publication of the Gold Book so there’s no Octobers records there either).

  • White-faced Ibis (Fairfax; this is the first October record for the state according to eBird and there’s no prior October occurrences noted in the Gold Book).

  • Lark Bunting (Virginia Beach; 1972 was the last October record in the state according to eBird & the Gold Book)

  • Sabine’s Gull (James City; 1967 was the last October record in the state according to the Gold Book but there haven’t been any October records previously input to eBird).

  • Saltmarsh Willet (Northampton; this is the first-ever October record for the state input to eBird, though the Gold Book lists a late date of 15 Oct for the Coastal Plain so other records must exist. This may also have something to do with the taxonomic split of Willet into Saltmarsh & Prairie Willets; scrutiny of October photographs of slash-entry, Saltmarsh/Prairie Willets might yield other records, but for now, this is the only one in eBird!).

Three species observed in Oct 2026 had been recorded to eBird in only 1 of the prior ten Octobers:

  • Calliope Hummingbird (Bedford; 2020 was the only October out of the prior ten with a record)

  • Ross’s Goose (Westmoreland; 2021 was the only October out of the prior ten with a record)

  • Snow Bunting (Madison & Page; 2025 was the only October out of the prior ten with a record)

Four species observed in Oct 2026 had been recorded to eBird in only 2 of the prior ten Octobers:

Six species observed in Oct 2026 had been recorded to eBird in only 3 of the prior ten Octobers:

Two species observed in Oct 2026 had been recorded to eBird in only 4 of the prior ten Octobers:

Six species observed in Oct 2026 had been recorded to eBird in only 5 of the prior ten Octobers:

Six species observed in Oct 2026 had been recorded to eBird in only 6 of the prior ten Octobers:

Seven species observed in Oct 2026 had been recorded to eBird in only 7 of the prior ten Octobers:

Six species observed in Oct 2026 had been recorded to eBird in only 8 of the prior ten Octobers:

Eight species observed in Oct 2026 had been recorded to eBird in only 9 of the prior ten Octobers:

  • White-winged Scoter (Accomack, Hampton, Northampton & Virginia Beach; missed only in 2024)

  • Lark Sparrow (Northampton & Virginia Beach; missed only in 2022)

  • Red Knot (Accomack, Hampton & Northampton; missed only in 2021)

  • Eastern Kingbird (Chesterfield, Fairfax, Northampton & James City; missed only in 2019)

  • American Golden-Plover (Accomack, Augusta, Clarke, Halifax, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Page, Portsmouth, Pulaski & Rockingham; missed only in 2018)

  • Canada Warbler (Chesterfield, Loudoun & Montgomery; missed only in 2018)

  • Trumpeter Swan (Fauquier; missed only in 2016)

  • Eastern Warbling Vireo (Campbell, Fairfax, Fauquier, Henrico & Rockingham; missed only in 2016)

Of course, it is also fun to look at what species were missed for the month that had occurred in some of the prior ten Octobers (and to reminisce about when those birds were observed). 69 such species were not recorded in Virginia this month. Starting with the worst misses, here are the species not recorded to eBird in Oct 2026 that had been recorded in all 10 of the past 10 Octobers (clicking on the names below will open this month’s eBird map to showcase where the species actually did get recorded):

  • Snow Goose (a remarkable miss, especially given the last time it was missed for October was in 1976!)

One species not recorded to eBird in Oct 2026 that had been recorded in 9 of the past 10 Octobers:

Two species not recorded to eBird in Oct 2026 that had been recorded in 6 of the past 10 Octobers:

Four species not recorded to eBird in Oct 2026 that had been recorded in 5 of the past 10 Octobers:

Species not recorded to eBird in Oct 2026 that had been recorded in less than half of the prior 10 Octobers are as follows…

The Fours (5): Harlequin Duck, Great Shearwater, Prothonotary Warbler, Cave Swallow & Buff-breasted Sandpiper. The Threes (14): Henslow’s Sparrow, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Baird’s Sandpiper, Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, Gray Kingbird, Western Tanager, Pomarine Jaeger, Cerulean Warbler, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Red Phalarope, Willow Flycatcher, Eastern Whip-poor-will & Common Goldeneye. The Twos (14): Cory’s Shearwater, Wood Stork, Bicknell’s Thrush, Kirtland’s Warbler, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Chuck-will’s-widow, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Black-necked Stilt, Least Tern, Black-capped Petrel, Purple Gallinulle, Black-headed Gull, Kentucky Warbler & Eurasian Wigeon. The Ones (28): Say’s Phoebe (only recorded in 2025), Scopoli’s Shearwater (only in 2025), European Golden-Plover (only 2025), White-winged Dove (2025), Inca Dove (2025), Louisiana Waterthrush (2024), LeConte’s Sparrow (2024), American Flamingo (2023), Limpkin (2023), Mexican Violetear (2023), Tropical Kingbird (2022), Leach’s Storm-Petrel (2022), Red-necked Grebe (2022), Gull-billed Tern (2022), Mottled Duck (2022), Bullock’s Oriole (2021), Swallow-tailed Kite (2021), Heermann’s Gull (2021), Long-tailed Duck (2021), Virginia’s Warbler (2020), Gray Heron (2020), Masked Booby (2020), Purple Sandpiper (2020), Brewer’s Blackbird (2019), Sage Thrasher (2019), Northern Fulmar (2019), Pacific Loon (2018) & Northern Shrike (2016).

Monthly species diversity is now in decline from our fall peak as we head towards November, but being known as the vagrant month in Virginia, we’re likely to see a good number of interesting species logged. Please check back in mid-December to see what notable month-birds will have occurred in November!