WhenToBird

Larus glaucescens · Laridae

When Do Glaucous-winged Gulls Arrive in Alaska?

Adult Glaucous-winged Gull
Photo: Scott Veirs, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Glaucous-winged Gull is in Alaska all year. It turns up on about 30% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 10% in its quietest week (the second week of June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 22-30late September
Quietest weekJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: late September. Here all year. Peak: on about 30% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%40%Jan 1-7: 23% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 22% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 22% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 22% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 23% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 21% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 20% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 20% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 21% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 20% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 18% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 16% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 17% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 19% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 19% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 17% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 19% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 17% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 15% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 13% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 11% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.6% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 10% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 13% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 15% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 17% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 21% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 23% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 24% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 25% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 25% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 25% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 27% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 26% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 29% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 31% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 28% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 24% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 25% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 27% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 26% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 27% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 27% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 27% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 26% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 23% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 24% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 25% of 3442 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 Alaska 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 Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Petersburg BoroughBest late January · 161 checklists that week, 6,063 in all80%
  2. Aleutians East BoroughBest the second week of October · 78 checklists that week, 1,634 in all75%
  3. Haines BoroughBest the second week of November · 61 checklists that week, 1,690 in all72%
  4. Kodiak Island BoroughBest late September · 246 checklists that week, 11,483 in all70%
  5. Aleutians West Census AreaBest early April · 11 checklists that week, 6,087 in all70%
  6. Chugach Census AreaBest late July · 324 checklists that week, 7,540 in all69%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Coal PointKenai Peninsula Borough, best mid July · 24 checklists that week, 745 in all95%
  2. Kalsin PondKodiak Island Borough, best late September · 23 checklists that week, 798 in all95%
  3. HoonahHoonah-Angoon Census Area, best late August · 25 checklists that week, 468 in all94%
  4. Eagle RiverJuneau City and Borough, best mid August · 32 checklists that week, 1,420 in all93%
  5. Odiak SloughChugach Census Area, best early May · 62 checklists that week, 348 in all92%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Glaucous-winged Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (21% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 15% of 9751 checklists7 am: 17% of 17236 checklists8 am: 20% of 24936 checklists9 am: 21% of 30139 checklists10 am: 21% of 30866 checklists11 am: 20% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 19% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 20% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 20% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 20% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 19% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 17% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 17% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 16% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 14% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) 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
January23%22%22%22%
February23%21%20%20%
March21%20%18%16%
April17%19%19%17%
May19%17%15%13%
June11%9.6%10%13%
July15%17%21%23%
August24%25%25%25%
September27%26%29%31%
October28%24%25%27%
November26%27%27%27%
December26%23%24%25%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: year-round, peaks late November
  • Oregon: winter visitor, peaks early January
  • California: winter visitor, peaks early December

Common questions

When do Glaucous-winged Gulls arrive in Alaska?
The Glaucous-winged Gull is in Alaska all year. It turns up on about 30% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 10% in its quietest week (the second week of June).
When do Glaucous-winged Gulls leave Alaska?
The Glaucous-winged Gull does not leave Alaska: it is reported all year, from 10% of checklists in the second week of June to 30% in late September.
When is the best time to see a Glaucous-winged Gull in Alaska?
The Glaucous-winged Gull is reported most often in late September, on about 30% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Glaucous-winged Gulls seen most often?
By county, Petersburg Borough, Aleutians East Borough, and Haines Borough have the highest peak reporting rates for the Glaucous-winged Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).