WhenToBird

Larus fuscus · Laridae

When Do Lesser Black-backed Gulls Arrive in South Dakota?

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

Lesser Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in South Dakota: they arrive in late September, peak in late November (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by late January.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 22-30late September
Common bySep 22-30late September
PeakNov 22-30late November
Most gone byJan 22-31late January

Best: late November. First arrivals late September; most are gone by late January. Peak: on about 2.4% of South Dakota checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0.8% of 1699 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.8% of 967 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.8% of 893 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.4% of 1338 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.6% of 898 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 1013 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 1650 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.2% of 1011 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 1304 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.3% of 1447 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.5% of 1524 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.8% of 2850 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.5% of 2170 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.4% of 2259 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.3% of 2578 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.3% of 3858 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 3532 checklistsMay 8-14: 0% of 4498 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.3% of 4211 checklistsMay 22-31: 0% of 5094 checklistsJun 1-7: 0% of 3279 checklistsJun 8-14: 0% of 3503 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 2861 checklistsJun 22-30: 0% of 3893 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 2666 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 2554 checklistsJul 15-21: 0% of 2412 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.1% of 2746 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.1% of 1842 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 1899 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.1% of 1757 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 2464 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 1894 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 1794 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.3% of 1671 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.4% of 2085 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.2% of 1429 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.7% of 1441 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.6% of 1330 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.5% of 1471 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.2% of 1168 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.7% of 1068 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.1% of 985 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.5% of 1108 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.7% of 890 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.1% of 957 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.0% of 1246 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.0% of 1514 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 South Dakota 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 South Dakota

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Stanley CountyBest late November · 51 checklists that week, 2,615 in all18%
  2. Hughes CountyBest early December · 68 checklists that week, 3,765 in all14%
  3. Sully CountyBest late March · 12 checklists that week, 632 in all9.5%
  4. Kingsbury CountyBest late May · 12 checklists that week, 300 in all6.3%
  5. Charles Mix CountyBest the second week of January · 29 checklists that week, 2,198 in all5.2%
  6. Yankton CountyBest late November · 104 checklists that week, 3,895 in all2.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Oahe Downstream Recreation AreaStanley County, best the second week of December · 23 checklists that week, 509 in all31%
  2. Oaha Recreation AreaStanley County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 247 in all10%
  3. Cow Creek Recreation AreaSully County, best late October · 23 checklists that week, 140 in all10%
  4. Farm IslandHughes County, best late November · 23 checklists that week, 825 in all1.8%

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

Best time of day

In South Dakota, the Lesser Black-backed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (49) to judge1 am: too few checklists (44) to judge2 am: too few checklists (33) to judge3 am: too few checklists (59) to judge4 am: too few checklists (227) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1080) to judge6 am: 0% of 3387 checklists7 am: 0.1% of 7718 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 10342 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 10758 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 9123 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 7814 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 6876 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 6801 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 6673 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 6344 checklists4 pm: 0.2% of 6412 checklists5 pm: 0.2% of 5570 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 4276 checklists7 pm: 0.2% of 3183 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (1499) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (329) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (82) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (42) 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
January0.8%0.8%0.8%0.4%
February0.6%0%0.1%0.2%
March0.2%0.3%0.5%0.8%
April0.5%0.4%0.3%0.3%
May0.1%0%0.3%0%
June0%0%0.1%0%
July0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
August0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
September0%0.2%0.3%0.4%
October1.2%0.7%0.6%1.5%
November1.2%1.7%2.1%1.5%
December3.7%2.1%1.0%1.0%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: arrives the second week of September, 2 weeks earlier than South Dakota
  • North Dakota: arrives the second week of September, 2 weeks earlier than South Dakota
  • Iowa: arrives mid November, 7 weeks later than South Dakota
  • Kansas: arrives late September, in the same week than South Dakota

Common questions

When do Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrive in South Dakota?
Lesser Black-backed Gulls are winter birds in South Dakota: they arrive in late September, peak in late November (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by late January.
When do Lesser Black-backed Gulls leave South Dakota?
Most Lesser Black-backed Gulls have left South Dakota by late January, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Lesser Black-backed Gull in South Dakota?
The Lesser Black-backed Gull is reported most often in late November, on about 2.4% of South Dakota checklists.
Where in South Dakota are Lesser Black-backed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Stanley County, Hughes County, and Sully County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Lesser Black-backed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).