WhenToBird

Larus marinus · Laridae

When Do Great Black-backed Gulls Arrive in Florida?

Adult Great Black-backed Gull
Photo: Rob Wadsworth, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Great Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in Florida: they arrive in late October, peak in late January (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 22-31late October
Common byOct 22-31late October
PeakJan 22-31late January
Most gone byMar 22-31late March

Best: late January. First arrivals late October; most are gone by late March. Peak: on about 1.2% of Florida checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.9% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.9% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.0% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.4% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.2% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.7% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.6% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.5% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.4% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.3% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.2% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.2% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.2% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.2% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.2% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.2% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.2% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.2% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.2% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.2% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.2% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.4% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.5% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.5% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.6% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.6% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.6% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.9% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Volusia CountyBest early February · 1559 checklists that week, 52,415 in all10%
  2. Brevard CountyBest late January · 7544 checklists that week, 111,054 in all7.3%
  3. Duval CountyBest late November · 1924 checklists that week, 76,684 in all5.3%
  4. St. Johns CountyBest mid January · 1153 checklists that week, 51,026 in all4.0%
  5. Nassau CountyBest late December · 448 checklists that week, 10,618 in all3.9%
  6. Flagler CountyBest early January · 409 checklists that week, 11,954 in all2.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Frank Rendon ParkVolusia County, best the second week of February · 66 checklists that week, 640 in all79%
  2. Helen Cooper Floyd ParkDuval County, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 635 in all79%
  3. Fort George InletDuval County, best mid September · 28 checklists that week, 3,199 in all74%
  4. Tom Renick ParkVolusia County, best early February · 41 checklists that week, 1,941 in all53%
  5. Vilano Boat Ramp ParkSt. Johns County, best late January · 23 checklists that week, 621 in all42%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Great Black-backed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 2 and 4 pm (0.6% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 0.4% of 94591 checklists7 am: 0.6% of 296183 checklists8 am: 0.4% of 319987 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 254830 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 209480 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 0.3% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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
January0.9%0.9%1.0%1.4%
February1.2%1.0%0.7%0.7%
March0.6%0.5%0.4%0.3%
April0.2%0.2%0.1%0.1%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0.2%0.2%0.1%0.2%
July0.1%0.2%0.2%0.2%
August0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%
September0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%
October0.2%0.2%0.2%0.3%
November0.4%0.5%0.5%0.6%
December0.5%0.6%0.6%0.9%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Great Black-backed Gulls arrive in Florida?
Great Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in Florida: they arrive in late October, peak in late January (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.
When do Great Black-backed Gulls leave Florida?
Most Great Black-backed Gulls have left Florida by late March, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Black-backed Gull in Florida?
The Great Black-backed Gull is reported most often in late January, on about 1.2% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Great Black-backed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Volusia County, Brevard County, and Duval County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Black-backed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).