WhenToBird

Larus marinus · Laridae

When Do Great Black-backed Gulls Arrive in Ohio?

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

Great Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in Ohio: they arrive in mid November, peak in mid January (3.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early April.

When to look

First arrivalsNov 15-21mid November
Common byNov 15-21mid November
PeakJan 15-21mid January
Most gone byApr 1-7early April

Best: mid January. First arrivals mid November; most are gone by early April. Peak: on about 3.6% of Ohio checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Seprare
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 3.3% of 46637 checklistsJan 8-14: 3.2% of 31056 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.7% of 30129 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.7% of 38665 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.7% of 27203 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.0% of 30626 checklistsFeb 15-21: 2.0% of 40705 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.8% of 31391 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.3% of 32914 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.8% of 33973 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.8% of 33678 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.5% of 49889 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.0% of 41225 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.6% of 47174 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.3% of 47017 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.2% of 73055 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 80637 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.2% of 102552 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 64582 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 52766 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 29279 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 25773 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 23163 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 27794 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 23334 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.2% of 22147 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 20998 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 29749 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.2% of 22899 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 21972 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 22215 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.5% of 35087 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.5% of 29148 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 28042 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.4% of 26751 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 32398 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 26209 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 26809 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.5% of 23504 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 33269 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 25563 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.7% of 23810 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 22127 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.2% of 29449 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.4% of 22370 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.6% of 21581 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.2% of 24232 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.7% of 36084 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 Ohio 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 Ohio

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lorain CountyBest mid January · 1106 checklists that week, 59,913 in all19%
  2. Cuyahoga CountyBest late January · 4659 checklists that week, 158,034 in all15%
  3. Erie CountyBest the second week of March · 549 checklists that week, 30,456 in all15%
  4. Ashtabula CountyBest mid January · 112 checklists that week, 12,390 in all11%
  5. Lake CountyBest mid January · 1035 checklists that week, 59,983 in all11%
  6. Ottawa CountyBest mid January · 540 checklists that week, 51,024 in all5.9%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Miller Rd ParkLorain County, best the second week of February · 65 checklists that week, 552 in all89%
  2. Main Street BeachErie County, best early January · 33 checklists that week, 713 in all85%
  3. Whiskey IslandCuyahoga County, best mid February · 139 checklists that week, 8,019 in all80%
  4. Perkins BeachCuyahoga County, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 1,156 in all69%

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

Best time of day

In Ohio, the Great Black-backed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (1.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (574) to judge1 am: too few checklists (609) to judge2 am: too few checklists (466) to judge3 am: too few checklists (478) to judge4 am: too few checklists (662) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4366) to judge6 am: 0.5% of 43093 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 142017 checklists8 am: 0.9% of 205296 checklists9 am: 1.1% of 196322 checklists10 am: 1.2% of 170882 checklists11 am: 1.2% of 144567 checklists12 pm: 1.3% of 126551 checklists1 pm: 1.3% of 117855 checklists2 pm: 1.2% of 112869 checklists3 pm: 1.1% of 109786 checklists4 pm: 0.9% of 103116 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 78409 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 56785 checklists7 pm: 0.1% of 37923 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (14954) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2710) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (854) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (486) 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
January3.3%3.2%3.7%3.7%
February2.7%2.0%2.0%1.8%
March2.3%1.8%1.8%1.5%
April1.0%0.6%0.3%0.2%
May0.2%0.2%0.1%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0.1%0.2%0.3%0.3%
August0.2%0.2%0.3%0.5%
September0.5%0.5%0.4%0.3%
October0.3%0.3%0.5%0.5%
November0.7%0.7%1.1%1.2%
December1.4%1.6%2.2%2.7%

Neighboring states

  • Michigan: arrives late October, 3 weeks earlier than Ohio
  • Pennsylvania: arrives early October, 6 weeks earlier than Ohio
  • Virginia: arrives mid May, 24 weeks earlier than Ohio
  • District of Columbia: arrives late October, 3 weeks earlier than Ohio

Common questions

When do Great Black-backed Gulls arrive in Ohio?
Great Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in Ohio: they arrive in mid November, peak in mid January (3.6% of checklists), and most are gone by early April.
When do Great Black-backed Gulls leave Ohio?
Most Great Black-backed Gulls have left Ohio by early April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Black-backed Gull in Ohio?
The Great Black-backed Gull is reported most often in mid January, on about 3.6% of Ohio checklists.
Where in Ohio are Great Black-backed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Lorain County, Cuyahoga County, and Erie County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Black-backed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).