WhenToBird

Larus fuscus · Laridae

When Do Lesser Black-backed Gulls Arrive in Florida?

Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull
Photo: danielarah, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Lesser Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in Florida: they arrive in the second week of September, peak in mid December (2.7% of checklists), and most are gone by early April.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 8-14the second week of September
Common bySep 8-14the second week of September
PeakDec 15-21mid December
Most gone byApr 1-7early April

Best: mid December. First arrivals the second week of September; most are gone by early April. Peak: on about 2.7% of Florida checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junrare
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 2.2% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.5% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.3% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.6% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.3% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.1% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.7% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.0% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.8% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.7% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.6% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.5% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.1% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.9% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.7% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.2% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.2% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.2% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.2% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.3% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.3% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.5% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.6% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.5% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.4% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.6% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.9% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.0% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.2% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.2% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.2% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.4% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.4% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.7% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.4% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.7% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.8% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.5% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.5% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.9% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.7% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.6% 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. Palm Beach CountyBest the second week of November · 2162 checklists that week, 118,595 in all8.2%
  2. Broward CountyBest late November · 1564 checklists that week, 57,530 in all8.1%
  3. Volusia CountyBest late January · 2339 checklists that week, 52,415 in all7.3%
  4. Brevard CountyBest mid December · 2523 checklists that week, 111,054 in all7.0%
  5. Sarasota CountyBest the second week of December · 2606 checklists that week, 120,976 in all6.8%
  6. Nassau CountyBest late October · 241 checklists that week, 10,618 in all5.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Siesta BeachSarasota County, best the second week of December · 179 checklists that week, 3,512 in all84%
  2. J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.closing Order Boundary (northeast)Lee County, best late December · 23 checklists that week, 168 in all82%
  3. John U. Lloyd Beach State ParkBroward County, best mid December · 34 checklists that week, 2,561 in all79%
  4. Gulfstream ParkPalm Beach County, best the second week of December · 20 checklists that week, 332 in all79%
  5. Ocean Ridge Hammock ParkPalm Beach County, best late February · 25 checklists that week, 413 in all77%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Lesser Black-backed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (2.0% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%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: 1.6% of 94591 checklists7 am: 2.2% of 296183 checklists8 am: 1.7% of 319987 checklists9 am: 1.4% of 254830 checklists10 am: 1.3% of 209480 checklists11 am: 1.3% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 1.2% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 1.5% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 1.6% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 2.0% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 1.8% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 1.1% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 0.6% 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
January2.2%2.5%2.3%2.6%
February2.3%2.1%1.7%2.0%
March1.8%1.7%1.6%1.5%
April1.1%0.9%0.7%0.4%
May0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%
June0.3%0.3%0.3%0.4%
July0.3%0.4%0.4%0.5%
August0.6%0.5%0.4%0.6%
September0.9%1.0%1.2%1.2%
October1.2%1.4%1.4%1.7%
November2.4%2.7%2.8%2.5%
December2.5%2.9%2.7%2.6%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: arrives late July, 6 weeks earlier than Florida
  • North Carolina: arrives the second week of August, 4 weeks earlier than Florida
  • Kentucky: arrives the second week of September, in the same week than Florida
  • Virginia: arrives mid July, 7 weeks earlier than Florida

Common questions

When do Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrive in Florida?
Lesser Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in Florida: they arrive in the second week of September, peak in mid December (2.7% of checklists), and most are gone by early April.
When do Lesser Black-backed Gulls leave Florida?
Most Lesser Black-backed Gulls have left Florida by early April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Lesser Black-backed Gull in Florida?
The Lesser Black-backed Gull is reported most often in mid December, on about 2.7% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Lesser Black-backed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Palm Beach County, Broward County, and Volusia County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lesser Black-backed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).