WhenToBird

Larus smithsonianus · Laridae

When Do American Herring Gulls Arrive in New York?

Adult American Herring Gull
Photo: Priya Sandhu, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

American Herring Gulls are in New York all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from late September, peak in the second week of January (26% of checklists), and fall back by mid March. In the quietest week (the second week of May) they are still on about 9.6% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildSep 22-30late September
PeakJan 8-14the second week of January
Fall back byMar 15-21mid March
FewestMay 8-14the second week of May

Best: the second week of January. Here all year; numbers build from late September and fall back by mid March. Peak: on about 26% of New York checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 26% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 26% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 26% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 24% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 23% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 20% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 17% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 22% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 21% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 19% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 18% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 17% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 15% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 13% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 12% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.9% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.3% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 9.6% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 11% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 10% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 10% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 10% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 13% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 14% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 15% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 17% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 18% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 19% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 19% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 18% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 17% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 17% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 18% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 18% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 19% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 19% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 21% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 23% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 24% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 25% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 26% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 25% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 24% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 24% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 25% of 62470 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in New York that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kings CountyBest mid January · 2690 checklists that week, 134,897 in all61%
  2. Richmond CountyBest the second week of January · 1298 checklists that week, 55,926 in all53%
  3. Nassau CountyBest early January · 3825 checklists that week, 95,019 in all53%
  4. Niagara CountyBest late November · 704 checklists that week, 28,936 in all53%
  5. Queens CountyBest late July · 1613 checklists that week, 76,201 in all52%
  6. Suffolk CountyBest mid December · 4187 checklists that week, 208,865 in all49%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Town of Southold Land (Hashamomuck Beach)Suffolk County, best late December · 36 checklists that week, 318 in all100%
  2. Jones Beach State ParkNassau County, best mid March · 25 checklists that week, 1,378 in all100%
  3. Crab Meadow Beach ParkSuffolk County, best early December · 21 checklists that week, 1,121 in all100%
  4. Hamlin Beach State Park (west)Monroe County, best late November · 24 checklists that week, 382 in all99%
  5. Hamlin Beach State ParkMonroe County, best early August · 47 checklists that week, 2,133 in all99%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In New York, the American Herring Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (20% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 17% of 124869 checklists7 am: 16% of 298506 checklists8 am: 16% of 337334 checklists9 am: 18% of 307787 checklists10 am: 18% of 270801 checklists11 am: 19% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 19% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 20% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 19% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 19% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 17% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 14% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 12% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January26%26%26%24%
February23%20%17%22%
March21%19%18%17%
April15%14%13%12%
May9.9%9.3%9.6%11%
June11%10%10%10%
July11%13%14%15%
August17%18%19%19%
September18%17%17%18%
October18%19%19%21%
November23%24%25%26%
December25%24%24%25%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: year-round, peaks the second week of January
  • New Jersey: year-round, peaks the second week of January
  • Pennsylvania: arrives late July, 8 weeks earlier than New York
  • Vermont: arrives mid July, 9 weeks earlier than New York

Common questions

When do American Herring Gulls arrive in New York?
American Herring Gulls are in New York all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from late September, peak in the second week of January (26% of checklists), and fall back by mid March. In the quietest week (the second week of May) they are still on about 9.6% of checklists.
When do American Herring Gulls leave New York?
American Herring Gulls never fully leave New York: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by mid March, but some are still reported in every week, about 9.6% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a American Herring Gull in New York?
The American Herring Gull is reported most often in the second week of January, on about 26% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are American Herring Gulls seen most often?
By county, Kings County, Richmond County, and Nassau County have the highest peak reporting rates for the American Herring Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).