WhenToBird

Larus marinus · Laridae

When Do Great Black-backed Gulls Arrive in New York?

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

Great Black-backed Gulls are in New York all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early November, peak in the second week of January (16% of checklists), and fall back by early March. In the quietest week (the second week of May) they are still on about 4.0% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildNov 1-7early November
PeakJan 8-14the second week of January
Fall back byMar 1-7early March
FewestMay 8-14the second week of May

Best: the second week of January. Here all year; numbers build from early November and fall back by early March. Peak: on about 16% of New York checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 16% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 17% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 17% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 16% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 13% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 10% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 13% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 11% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.2% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 8.6% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 7.9% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 7.0% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.1% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 5.4% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.5% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.7% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 3.9% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.3% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.6% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 6.3% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.1% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 6.1% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 6.1% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.0% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.4% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.2% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 8.9% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.7% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.7% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 10% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.5% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 8.8% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.8% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 7.6% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.4% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 7.6% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 8.3% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 8.4% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 9.7% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 11% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 13% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 13% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 14% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 14% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 14% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 14% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 15% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kings CountyBest mid January · 2690 checklists that week, 134,897 in all42%
  2. Queens CountyBest late July · 1613 checklists that week, 76,201 in all42%
  3. Suffolk CountyBest late July · 4465 checklists that week, 208,865 in all37%
  4. Nassau CountyBest early January · 3825 checklists that week, 95,019 in all37%
  5. Richmond CountyBest early January · 1631 checklists that week, 55,926 in all32%
  6. New York CountyBest late January · 3916 checklists that week, 187,471 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sagaponack PondSuffolk County, best mid August · 22 checklists that week, 657 in all100%
  2. Hudson River ParkNew York County, best early September · 27 checklists that week, 1,857 in all99%
  3. W Scott Cameron Town BeachSuffolk County, best mid July · 27 checklists that week, 1,158 in all98%
  4. Cupsoque County ParkSuffolk County, best mid June · 64 checklists that week, 1,837 in all98%
  5. Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk and BeachRichmond County, best late October · 27 checklists that week, 485 in all98%
  6. Sammys Town BeachSuffolk County, best the second week of April · 21 checklists that week, 1,089 in all97%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Great Black-backed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (11% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%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: 8.8% of 124869 checklists7 am: 8.0% of 298506 checklists8 am: 8.2% of 337334 checklists9 am: 9.6% of 307787 checklists10 am: 9.9% of 270801 checklists11 am: 10% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 10% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 11% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 10% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 9.9% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 9.0% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 6.1% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 5.2% 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
January16%17%17%16%
February15%13%10%13%
March11%9.2%8.6%7.9%
April7.0%6.1%5.4%4.5%
May3.7%3.9%4.3%5.6%
June6.3%6.1%6.1%6.1%
July6.0%7.4%8.2%8.9%
August9.7%9.7%10%9.5%
September8.8%7.8%7.6%8.4%
October7.6%8.3%8.4%9.7%
November11%13%13%14%
December14%14%14%15%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives early July, 16 weeks earlier than New York
  • New Jersey: year-round, peaks mid January
  • Pennsylvania: arrives early October, 4 weeks earlier than New York
  • Vermont: arrives late July, 13 weeks earlier than New York

Common questions

When do Great Black-backed Gulls arrive in New York?
Great Black-backed Gulls are in New York all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from early November, peak in the second week of January (16% of checklists), and fall back by early March. In the quietest week (the second week of May) they are still on about 4.0% of checklists.
When do Great Black-backed Gulls leave New York?
Great Black-backed Gulls never fully leave New York: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by early March, but some are still reported in every week, about 4.0% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Great Black-backed Gull in New York?
The Great Black-backed Gull is reported most often in the second week of January, on about 16% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Great Black-backed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Kings County, Queens County, and Suffolk County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Black-backed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).