WhenToBird

Leucophaeus pipixcan · Laridae

When Do Franklin's Gulls Arrive in Colorado?

Adult Franklin's Gull
Photo: Dani Alba, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Franklin's Gulls arrive in Colorado in late March, peak in mid April (6.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late March
Common byMar 22-31late March
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Most gone byMay 15-21mid May

Best: mid April. First arrivals late March; most are gone by mid May. Peak: on about 6.5% of Colorado checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 32254 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 23278 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 22933 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 30856 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 21464 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 22910 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 28739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 21833 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 23066 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 23783 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.2% of 24797 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.8% of 38439 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.4% of 31676 checklistsApr 8-14: 4.8% of 35092 checklistsApr 15-21: 8.6% of 36778 checklistsApr 22-30: 6.1% of 50885 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.7% of 44186 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.8% of 49011 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.0% of 40784 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.8% of 53073 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 32432 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 29978 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.2% of 29457 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 36072 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 28857 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 27224 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 27629 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.0% of 37318 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.5% of 25893 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.0% of 24870 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.9% of 24035 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.4% of 35691 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.6% of 27068 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.8% of 26709 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.7% of 26098 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.7% of 31550 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.0% of 24110 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.0% of 23352 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.7% of 21895 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.2% of 28319 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 21698 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.2% of 21061 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 19855 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 25798 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 18626 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 19004 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 23103 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 30802 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 Colorado 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 Colorado

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Washington CountyBest early August · 40 checklists that week, 2,511 in all67%
  2. Sedgwick CountyBest mid September · 38 checklists that week, 1,168 in all43%
  3. Morgan CountyBest mid September · 156 checklists that week, 5,181 in all38%
  4. Logan CountyBest early September · 130 checklists that week, 4,117 in all28%
  5. Crowley CountyBest mid April · 69 checklists that week, 1,883 in all27%
  6. Costilla CountyBest late April · 40 checklists that week, 1,323 in all24%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Prewitt Reservoir State Wildlife AreaWashington County, best early August · 30 checklists that week, 957 in all94%
  2. Swede LakeLarimer County, best the second week of August · 30 checklists that week, 238 in all94%
  3. Jackson Lake State Wildlife AreaMorgan County, best late August · 54 checklists that week, 276 in all83%
  4. Timnath ReservoirLarimer County, best the second week of August · 106 checklists that week, 1,723 in all83%
  5. Julesburg ReservoirLogan County, best late August · 32 checklists that week, 460 in all82%
  6. Boyd Lake State ParkLarimer County, best the second week of September · 63 checklists that week, 2,115 in all81%

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

Best time of day

In Colorado, the Franklin's Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (2.0% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (512) to judge1 am: too few checklists (468) to judge2 am: too few checklists (513) to judge3 am: too few checklists (656) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1918) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16045) to judge6 am: 1.8% of 71991 checklists7 am: 1.4% of 159189 checklists8 am: 1.4% of 177206 checklists9 am: 1.4% of 165269 checklists10 am: 1.3% of 141029 checklists11 am: 1.5% of 115283 checklists12 pm: 1.4% of 96068 checklists1 pm: 1.4% of 89512 checklists2 pm: 1.5% of 86319 checklists3 pm: 1.4% of 82496 checklists4 pm: 1.6% of 71648 checklists5 pm: 2.0% of 52445 checklists6 pm: 2.1% of 40199 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24246) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7986) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2004) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (888) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (450) 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.2%0.8%
April2.4%4.8%8.6%6.1%
May3.7%1.8%1.0%0.8%
June0.4%0.2%0.2%0.2%
July0.3%0.3%0.5%1.0%
August1.5%2.0%1.9%2.4%
September2.6%2.8%2.7%2.7%
October2.0%2.0%1.7%1.2%
November0.5%0.2%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: arrives early April, 1 week later than Colorado
  • New Mexico: arrives mid March, 1 week earlier than Colorado
  • Utah: arrives late March, in the same week than Colorado
  • Nebraska: arrives mid July, 15 weeks later than Colorado

Common questions

When do Franklin's Gulls arrive in Colorado?
Franklin's Gulls arrive in Colorado in late March, peak in mid April (6.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.
When do Franklin's Gulls leave Colorado?
Most Franklin's Gulls have left Colorado by mid May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Franklin's Gull in Colorado?
The Franklin's Gull is reported most often in mid April, on about 6.5% of Colorado checklists.
Where in Colorado are Franklin's Gulls seen most often?
By county, Washington County, Sedgwick County, and Morgan County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Franklin's Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).