WhenToBird

Morus bassanus · Sulidae

When Do Northern Gannets Arrive in Maryland?

Adult Northern Gannet
Photo: Dave, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Northern Gannets are winter birds in Maryland: they arrive in late October, peak in mid November (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 22-31late October
Common byOct 22-31late October
PeakNov 15-21mid November
Most gone byApr 15-21mid April

Best: mid November. First arrivals late October; most are gone by mid April. Peak: on about 1.6% of Maryland checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.5% of 28716 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.5% of 21449 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.5% of 21267 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.3% of 29144 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 21347 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.4% of 22166 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.6% of 29986 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.9% of 22427 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.8% of 21389 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.0% of 22192 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.3% of 22823 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.8% of 33720 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.6% of 25513 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.9% of 27718 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 29328 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.2% of 42595 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 38532 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 42722 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.1% of 31936 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 36903 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 23191 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 21853 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 21000 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 25133 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 18715 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 16376 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 15793 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 21969 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 16013 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 15249 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 15674 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.1% of 24925 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 19808 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.1% of 18513 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.1% of 21901 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 22901 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.1% of 19111 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.1% of 18482 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 17380 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 23992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.8% of 17915 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.5% of 18905 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.2% of 16259 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.2% of 22852 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.8% of 16108 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.6% of 16512 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 18952 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.9% of 29728 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 Maryland 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 Maryland

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Worcester CountyBest the second week of March · 722 checklists that week, 44,596 in all20%
  2. Calvert CountyBest early April · 1070 checklists that week, 43,807 in all12%
  3. Queen Anne's CountyBest early April · 549 checklists that week, 26,875 in all9.1%
  4. Somerset CountyBest late March · 285 checklists that week, 9,451 in all6.0%
  5. St. Mary's CountyBest mid March · 363 checklists that week, 20,572 in all5.2%
  6. Talbot CountyBest early April · 789 checklists that week, 31,140 in all3.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ocean City InletWorcester County, best mid March · 152 checklists that week, 5,187 in all73%
  2. Holligans Snooze InletQueen Anne's County, best late March · 21 checklists that week, 478 in all48%
  3. Point Lookout SpSt. Mary's County, best late March · 34 checklists that week, 1,235 in all43%
  4. Assateague Sp (south)Worcester County, best late December · 35 checklists that week, 290 in all36%
  5. Sedgewick CoveQueen Anne's County, best early April · 90 checklists that week, 3,164 in all35%
  6. Assateague SpWorcester County, best late December · 52 checklists that week, 453 in all31%

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

Best time of day

In Maryland, the Northern Gannet is most often listed on checklists started between 2 and 4 pm (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (486) to judge1 am: too few checklists (451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (447) to judge3 am: too few checklists (766) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2076) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11098) to judge6 am: 0.5% of 56604 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 139255 checklists8 am: 0.4% of 148626 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 126820 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 106973 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 87483 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 74808 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 69428 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 67800 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 67688 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 60927 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 43876 checklists6 pm: 0.4% of 32930 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19051) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5708) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1977) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1170) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (635) 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
January0.5%0.5%0.5%0.3%
February0.4%0.4%0.6%0.9%
March0.8%1.0%1.3%1.8%
April1.6%0.9%0.4%0.2%
May0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0%0%0.1%0%
August0%0.1%0%0.1%
September0%0.1%0.1%0.1%
October0.1%0.1%0.1%0.5%
November0.8%2.5%1.2%1.2%
December0.8%0.6%0.4%0.9%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives mid October, 1 week earlier than Maryland
  • Virginia: arrives early November, 1 week later than Maryland
  • New Jersey: arrives the second week of October, 2 weeks earlier than Maryland
  • New York: arrives mid October, 1 week earlier than Maryland

Common questions

When do Northern Gannets arrive in Maryland?
Northern Gannets are winter birds in Maryland: they arrive in late October, peak in mid November (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by mid April.
When do Northern Gannets leave Maryland?
Most Northern Gannets have left Maryland by mid April, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Northern Gannet in Maryland?
The Northern Gannet is reported most often in mid November, on about 1.6% of Maryland checklists.
Where in Maryland are Northern Gannets seen most often?
By county, Worcester County, Calvert County, and Queen Anne's County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Northern Gannet (counties with at least 200 checklists).