WhenToBird

Larus delawarensis · Laridae

When Do Ring-billed Gulls Arrive in Arizona?

Adult Ring-billed Gull
Photo: Isaac Krone, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Ring-billed Gulls are winter birds in Arizona: they arrive in mid September, peak in mid November (3.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.

When to look

First arrivalsSep 15-21mid September
Common bySep 15-21mid September
PeakNov 15-21mid November
Most gone byMay 1-7early May

Best: mid November. First arrivals mid September; most are gone by early May. Peak: on about 3.4% of Arizona checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  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: 2.4% of 34758 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.2% of 29835 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.0% of 29279 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.9% of 39716 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.4% of 27299 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.4% of 28703 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.2% of 35357 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.3% of 29889 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.5% of 29932 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.6% of 32982 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.0% of 34731 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.9% of 50213 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.4% of 35788 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.3% of 38087 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.9% of 41520 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.0% of 55218 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.0% of 39688 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.8% of 39398 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.6% of 29562 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.4% of 36774 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.2% of 21313 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 19129 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 17922 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 21188 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.1% of 17325 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 16463 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 18642 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.2% of 31215 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.2% of 28163 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 31329 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.4% of 23878 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.4% of 28508 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.6% of 20878 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.8% of 19671 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.1% of 19859 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.0% of 25179 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.9% of 19420 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.9% of 21925 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.3% of 20995 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.0% of 29258 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.0% of 21269 checklistsNov 8-14: 3.0% of 22753 checklistsNov 15-21: 3.5% of 21982 checklistsNov 22-30: 3.5% of 29475 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.9% of 20810 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.0% of 22229 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.2% of 25148 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.0% of 39567 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 Arizona 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 Arizona

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Mohave CountyBest mid January · 390 checklists that week, 18,083 in all32%
  2. La Paz CountyBest the second week of November · 185 checklists that week, 7,279 in all22%
  3. Gila CountyBest mid January · 187 checklists that week, 14,834 in all16%
  4. Yuma CountyBest late January · 581 checklists that week, 14,687 in all14%
  5. Graham CountyBest the second week of April · 205 checklists that week, 9,876 in all6.8%
  6. Yavapai CountyBest late November · 1967 checklists that week, 83,606 in all6.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lake Havasu State ParkMohave County, best mid September · 25 checklists that week, 207 in all97%
  2. Rotary ParkMohave County, best late January · 24 checklists that week, 945 in all95%
  3. Lake Pleasant Regional Park (north)Yavapai County, best early January · 21 checklists that week, 302 in all94%
  4. Tonto National Forest (Saguaro Lake)Maricopa County, best early January · 75 checklists that week, 788 in all89%
  5. Lake Mead National Recreation AreaMohave County, best late January · 20 checklists that week, 281 in all88%

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

Best time of day

In Arizona, the Ring-billed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (1.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (488) to judge1 am: too few checklists (503) to judge2 am: too few checklists (489) to judge3 am: too few checklists (735) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4115) to judge5 am: 0.6% of 38350 checklists6 am: 1.0% of 118786 checklists7 am: 1.3% of 183415 checklists8 am: 1.4% of 187346 checklists9 am: 1.5% of 151342 checklists10 am: 1.5% of 124522 checklists11 am: 1.6% of 97088 checklists12 pm: 1.6% of 78110 checklists1 pm: 1.7% of 73059 checklists2 pm: 1.7% of 68912 checklists3 pm: 1.6% of 68060 checklists4 pm: 1.1% of 69387 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 52951 checklists6 pm: 0.3% of 31061 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (16076) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5352) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2369) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1100) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (604) 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
January2.4%2.2%2.0%1.9%
February1.4%1.4%1.2%1.3%
March1.5%1.6%2.0%1.9%
April1.4%1.3%0.9%1.0%
May1.0%0.8%0.6%0.4%
June0.2%0.1%0.1%0.2%
July0.1%0.3%0.1%0.2%
August0.2%0.2%0.4%0.4%
September0.6%0.8%1.1%1.0%
October0.9%0.9%1.3%2.0%
November2.0%3.0%3.5%3.5%
December2.9%3.0%2.2%2.0%

Neighboring states

  • New Mexico: arrives early August, 6 weeks earlier than Arizona
  • Nevada: arrives early July, 10 weeks earlier than Arizona
  • Utah: arrives late August, 3 weeks earlier than Arizona
  • California: arrives the second week of July, 9 weeks earlier than Arizona

Common questions

When do Ring-billed Gulls arrive in Arizona?
Ring-billed Gulls are winter birds in Arizona: they arrive in mid September, peak in mid November (3.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.
When do Ring-billed Gulls leave Arizona?
Most Ring-billed Gulls have left Arizona by early May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Ring-billed Gull in Arizona?
The Ring-billed Gull is reported most often in mid November, on about 3.4% of Arizona checklists.
Where in Arizona are Ring-billed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Mohave County, La Paz County, and Gila County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Ring-billed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).