WhenToBird

Leucophaeus atricilla · Laridae

When Do Laughing Gulls Arrive in Texas?

Adult Laughing Gull
Photo: Drew Baxter, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

The Laughing Gull is in Texas all year. It turns up on about 18% of checklists at its peak (mid April) and on 7.7% in its quietest week (late January).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekApr 15-21mid April
Quietest weekJan 22-31late January

Best: mid April. Here all year. Peak: on about 18% of Texas checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 8.8% of 66038 checklistsJan 8-14: 8.0% of 52445 checklistsJan 15-21: 7.4% of 52985 checklistsJan 22-31: 7.9% of 71020 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.7% of 52306 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.9% of 55887 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.7% of 69016 checklistsFeb 22-28: 12% of 52998 checklistsMar 1-7: 12% of 50836 checklistsMar 8-14: 12% of 51749 checklistsMar 15-21: 13% of 53731 checklistsMar 22-31: 15% of 82049 checklistsApr 1-7: 16% of 65854 checklistsApr 8-14: 18% of 78434 checklistsApr 15-21: 20% of 92302 checklistsApr 22-30: 17% of 122878 checklistsMay 1-7: 12% of 74592 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.0% of 61008 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.4% of 43365 checklistsMay 22-31: 8.4% of 52736 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.0% of 31643 checklistsJun 8-14: 8.3% of 30131 checklistsJun 15-21: 9.7% of 26802 checklistsJun 22-30: 10% of 32822 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.6% of 27213 checklistsJul 8-14: 11% of 24555 checklistsJul 15-21: 11% of 24146 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 34536 checklistsAug 1-7: 10% of 25764 checklistsAug 8-14: 9.4% of 26347 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.4% of 28431 checklistsAug 22-31: 8.6% of 42838 checklistsSep 1-7: 8.2% of 35070 checklistsSep 8-14: 8.4% of 33893 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.7% of 32572 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.9% of 43771 checklistsOct 1-7: 9.2% of 34143 checklistsOct 8-14: 9.1% of 37563 checklistsOct 15-21: 9.2% of 36263 checklistsOct 22-31: 9.8% of 49170 checklistsNov 1-7: 11% of 43301 checklistsNov 8-14: 13% of 48744 checklistsNov 15-21: 10% of 42213 checklistsNov 22-30: 9.1% of 54455 checklistsDec 1-7: 9.0% of 40166 checklistsDec 8-14: 8.5% of 41035 checklistsDec 15-21: 8.5% of 46983 checklistsDec 22-31: 8.1% of 73015 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 Texas 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 Texas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Nueces CountyBest late June · 856 checklists that week, 86,594 in all84%
  2. Aransas CountyBest late June · 130 checklists that week, 30,389 in all77%
  3. Kleberg CountyBest late July · 138 checklists that week, 9,722 in all71%
  4. Galveston CountyBest the second week of July · 925 checklists that week, 129,637 in all70%
  5. Calhoun CountyBest the second week of August · 47 checklists that week, 7,186 in all68%
  6. San Patricio CountyBest the second week of July · 222 checklists that week, 17,002 in all68%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Big Reef Nature ParkGalveston County, best the second week of June · 20 checklists that week, 1,664 in all100%
  2. Dellanera RV ParkGalveston County, best the second week of November · 21 checklists that week, 393 in all100%
  3. Ash LakeHarris County, best the second week of January · 24 checklists that week, 205 in all100%
  4. Han & Pat SuterNueces County, best late June · 24 checklists that week, 2,363 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In Texas, the Laughing Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 2 and 4 pm (13% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (898) to judge1 am: too few checklists (756) to judge2 am: too few checklists (663) to judge3 am: too few checklists (741) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1537) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6113) to judge6 am: 13% of 74687 checklists7 am: 11% of 285131 checklists8 am: 9.7% of 329960 checklists9 am: 10% of 267889 checklists10 am: 11% of 218205 checklists11 am: 12% of 178879 checklists12 pm: 12% of 153722 checklists1 pm: 12% of 144662 checklists2 pm: 13% of 138578 checklists3 pm: 13% of 136878 checklists4 pm: 11% of 137550 checklists5 pm: 11% of 113599 checklists6 pm: 11% of 81743 checklists7 pm: 8.1% of 53396 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (17221) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4048) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1965) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (990) 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
January8.8%8.0%7.4%7.9%
February7.7%7.9%7.7%12%
March12%12%13%15%
April16%18%20%17%
May12%9.0%8.4%8.4%
June8.0%8.3%9.7%10%
July9.6%11%11%10%
August10%9.4%9.4%8.6%
September8.2%8.4%9.7%8.9%
October9.2%9.1%9.2%9.8%
November11%13%10%9.1%
December9.0%8.5%8.5%8.1%

Neighboring states

  • Louisiana: all year, most in spring, peaks mid April
  • Mississippi: year-round, peaks mid April
  • Alabama: all year, most in spring, peaks the second week of April
  • Georgia: year-round, peaks the second week of October

Common questions

When do Laughing Gulls arrive in Texas?
The Laughing Gull is in Texas all year. It turns up on about 18% of checklists at its peak (mid April) and on 7.7% in its quietest week (late January).
When do Laughing Gulls leave Texas?
The Laughing Gull does not leave Texas: it is reported all year, from 7.7% of checklists in late January to 18% in mid April.
When is the best time to see a Laughing Gull in Texas?
The Laughing Gull is reported most often in mid April, on about 18% of Texas checklists.
Where in Texas are Laughing Gulls seen most often?
By county, Nueces County, Aransas County, and Kleberg County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Laughing Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).