WhenToBird

Larus marinus · Laridae

When Do Great Black-backed Gulls Arrive in Michigan?

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

Great Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in Michigan: they arrive in late October, peak in early January (2.7% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 22-31late October
Common byOct 22-31late October
PeakJan 1-7early January
Most gone byMar 22-31late March

Best: early January. First arrivals late October; most are gone by late March. Peak: on about 2.7% of Michigan checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Seprare
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 2.6% of 38160 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.6% of 24696 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.4% of 23771 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.7% of 31347 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.6% of 23225 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.2% of 27398 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.9% of 36606 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.4% of 27127 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.3% of 29700 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.2% of 31587 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.0% of 32118 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.8% of 47777 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.5% of 38557 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.3% of 42207 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.3% of 42759 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.2% of 64458 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 60998 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 72091 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 59058 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 64724 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.2% of 35990 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 32595 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 30017 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 33988 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.2% of 28708 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 25175 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.2% of 24084 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.2% of 33522 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.2% of 25098 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 24353 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 25059 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.4% of 37489 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.4% of 28410 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.3% of 27887 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 26614 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 32557 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 25844 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 27741 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.6% of 24693 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.7% of 32460 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.1% of 23660 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.2% of 21542 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.8% of 19922 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.2% of 25069 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.2% of 18272 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.0% of 18961 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.8% of 24171 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.9% of 30908 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 Michigan 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 Michigan

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. St. Clair CountyBest mid January · 609 checklists that week, 24,098 in all17%
  2. Huron CountyBest late January · 26 checklists that week, 4,733 in all16%
  3. Bay CountyBest early December · 134 checklists that week, 16,522 in all15%
  4. Ottawa CountyBest late November · 1277 checklists that week, 71,787 in all13%
  5. Sanilac CountyBest early January · 61 checklists that week, 4,539 in all10%
  6. Wayne CountyBest early January · 1960 checklists that week, 68,343 in all9.9%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. GibraltarWayne County, best early January · 23 checklists that week, 135 in all81%
  2. Walter & Mary Burke ParkMacomb County, best late November · 38 checklists that week, 418 in all75%
  3. Brandenburg ParkMacomb County, best late December · 37 checklists that week, 271 in all74%
  4. Holland State Park (Ottawa Beach)Ottawa County, best late November · 237 checklists that week, 4,726 in all73%
  5. Kalamazoo RiverAllegan County, best early July · 20 checklists that week, 482 in all71%

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

Best time of day

In Michigan, the Great Black-backed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (1.1% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (712) to judge1 am: too few checklists (592) to judge2 am: too few checklists (532) to judge3 am: too few checklists (516) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1592) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6849) to judge6 am: 0.2% of 39298 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 120344 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 180109 checklists9 am: 0.8% of 171966 checklists10 am: 0.9% of 156332 checklists11 am: 0.9% of 134964 checklists12 pm: 1.0% of 120967 checklists1 pm: 1.1% of 113852 checklists2 pm: 1.0% of 110773 checklists3 pm: 0.9% of 105530 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 100958 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 80085 checklists6 pm: 0.2% of 62883 checklists7 pm: 0.2% of 44912 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (21062) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5920) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1629) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (775) 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
January2.6%2.6%2.4%1.7%
February1.6%1.2%0.9%1.4%
March1.3%1.2%1.0%0.8%
April0.5%0.3%0.3%0.2%
May0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0.2%0.1%0.1%0.2%
July0.2%0.1%0.2%0.2%
August0.2%0.2%0.3%0.4%
September0.4%0.3%0.3%0.3%
October0.3%0.3%0.6%0.7%
November1.1%1.2%1.8%2.2%
December2.2%2.0%1.8%2.9%

Neighboring states

  • Ohio: arrives mid November, 3 weeks later than Michigan
  • Wisconsin: arrives late November, 4 weeks later than Michigan
  • Pennsylvania: arrives early October, 3 weeks earlier than Michigan
  • District of Columbia: arrives late October, in the same week than Michigan

Common questions

When do Great Black-backed Gulls arrive in Michigan?
Great Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in Michigan: they arrive in late October, peak in early January (2.7% of checklists), and most are gone by late March.
When do Great Black-backed Gulls leave Michigan?
Most Great Black-backed Gulls have left Michigan by late March, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Black-backed Gull in Michigan?
The Great Black-backed Gull is reported most often in early January, on about 2.7% of Michigan checklists.
Where in Michigan are Great Black-backed Gulls seen most often?
By county, St. Clair County, Huron County, and Bay County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Black-backed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).