WhenToBird

Larus fuscus · Laridae

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

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

Lesser Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in New York: they arrive in late May, peak in mid November (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of April.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 22-31late May
Common byMay 22-31late May
PeakNov 15-21mid November
Most gone byApr 8-14the second week of April

Best: mid November. First arrivals late May; most are gone by the second week of April. Peak: on about 1.2% of New York checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 1.0% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.8% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.9% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.0% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.1% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.9% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.8% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.8% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.9% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.8% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.8% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.6% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.3% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.3% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.2% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.2% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.6% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.5% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.5% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.5% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.5% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.6% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.6% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.7% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.6% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.7% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.8% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.9% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.8% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.1% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.0% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.1% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.0% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.1% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.1% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.2% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.2% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.0% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.0% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.0% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.1% 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.

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Where in New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Niagara CountyBest late December · 1007 checklists that week, 28,936 in all18%
  2. Suffolk CountyBest late August · 5227 checklists that week, 208,865 in all6.7%
  3. Seneca CountyBest the second week of February · 617 checklists that week, 47,387 in all4.5%
  4. Nassau CountyBest mid October · 1599 checklists that week, 95,019 in all4.4%
  5. Tompkins CountyBest the second week of March · 4539 checklists that week, 219,250 in all3.9%
  6. Queens CountyBest early November · 1421 checklists that week, 76,201 in all2.9%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Niagara Falls State Park at Niagara Reservation (Three Sisters Islands)Niagara County, best the second week of January · 40 checklists that week, 888 in all87%
  2. Niagara Falls State Park at Niagara ReservationNiagara County, best late December · 97 checklists that week, 1,367 in all83%
  3. Sagaponack PondSuffolk County, best late August · 59 checklists that week, 657 in all69%
  4. Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness Area (Pelican Island)Suffolk County, best late August · 57 checklists that week, 249 in all65%
  5. W Scott Cameron Town BeachSuffolk County, best mid October · 22 checklists that week, 1,158 in all62%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Lesser Black-backed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 3 and 5 pm (0.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%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: 0.8% of 124869 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 298506 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 337334 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 307787 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 270801 checklists11 am: 0.8% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.8% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.8% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.8% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.8% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 0.5% 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
January1.0%0.8%0.9%1.0%
February1.1%0.9%0.7%0.8%
March0.8%0.9%0.8%0.8%
April0.6%0.5%0.4%0.3%
May0.3%0.2%0.2%0.6%
June0.5%0.6%0.5%0.4%
July0.5%0.5%0.6%0.6%
August0.7%0.6%0.7%0.8%
September0.9%0.8%0.8%1.1%
October1.0%1.1%1.0%1.1%
November1.1%1.2%1.1%1.2%
December1.0%1.0%1.0%1.1%

Neighboring states

  • New Jersey: arrives late June, 4 weeks later than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives late October, 20 weeks later than New York
  • Delaware: arrives mid May, 1 week earlier than New York
  • Rhode Island: arrives mid July, 7 weeks later than New York

Common questions

When do Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrive in New York?
Lesser Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in New York: they arrive in late May, peak in mid November (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of April.
When do Lesser Black-backed Gulls leave New York?
Most Lesser Black-backed Gulls have left New York by the second week of April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Lesser Black-backed Gull in New York?
The Lesser Black-backed Gull is reported most often in mid November, on about 1.2% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Lesser Black-backed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Niagara County, Suffolk County, and Seneca County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lesser Black-backed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).