WhenToBird

Larus delawarensis · Laridae

When Do Ring-billed Gulls Arrive in Maine?

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

Ring-billed Gulls are in Maine all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from the second week of August, peak in the second week of November (28% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of January. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 4.2% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildAug 8-14the second week of August
PeakNov 8-14the second week of November
Fall back byJan 8-14the second week of January
FewestJun 15-21mid June

Best: the second week of November. Here all year; numbers build from the second week of August and fall back by the second week of January. Peak: on about 28% of Maine checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  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%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 17% of 15499 checklistsJan 8-14: 16% of 11141 checklistsJan 15-21: 15% of 10729 checklistsJan 22-31: 16% of 15084 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 9403 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 11268 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 14061 checklistsFeb 22-28: 13% of 9977 checklistsMar 1-7: 15% of 9649 checklistsMar 8-14: 14% of 11781 checklistsMar 15-21: 16% of 11613 checklistsMar 22-31: 15% of 17798 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 14638 checklistsApr 8-14: 11% of 16511 checklistsApr 15-21: 9.0% of 17164 checklistsApr 22-30: 7.2% of 22602 checklistsMay 1-7: 6.2% of 22556 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.8% of 27842 checklistsMay 15-21: 5.1% of 27748 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.3% of 38715 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.6% of 26916 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.4% of 23737 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.1% of 22733 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.1% of 28248 checklistsJul 1-7: 6.1% of 20290 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.8% of 18534 checklistsJul 15-21: 10% of 17319 checklistsJul 22-31: 13% of 22815 checklistsAug 1-7: 17% of 15004 checklistsAug 8-14: 18% of 14603 checklistsAug 15-21: 20% of 14972 checklistsAug 22-31: 20% of 19813 checklistsSep 1-7: 22% of 14567 checklistsSep 8-14: 20% of 14520 checklistsSep 15-21: 21% of 14339 checklistsSep 22-30: 21% of 16879 checklistsOct 1-7: 21% of 12959 checklistsOct 8-14: 23% of 13168 checklistsOct 15-21: 24% of 11184 checklistsOct 22-31: 26% of 13717 checklistsNov 1-7: 29% of 9823 checklistsNov 8-14: 27% of 9007 checklistsNov 15-21: 27% of 8528 checklistsNov 22-30: 24% of 10228 checklistsDec 1-7: 22% of 7505 checklistsDec 8-14: 19% of 7982 checklistsDec 15-21: 17% of 10455 checklistsDec 22-31: 16% of 14285 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 Maine 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 Maine

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Androscoggin CountyBest early November · 353 checklists that week, 16,955 in all43%
  2. York CountyBest early September · 2179 checklists that week, 101,844 in all37%
  3. Penobscot CountyBest early November · 848 checklists that week, 56,895 in all34%
  4. Knox CountyBest early November · 507 checklists that week, 34,453 in all32%
  5. Waldo CountyBest mid November · 369 checklists that week, 33,433 in all31%
  6. Aroostook CountyBest the second week of September · 174 checklists that week, 16,817 in all31%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bridges Ice Pond (historical)York County, best early December · 28 checklists that week, 245 in all100%
  2. Medomak River ReservoirLincoln County, best late October · 22 checklists that week, 870 in all98%
  3. Gould LandingPenobscot County, best late August · 35 checklists that week, 813 in all97%
  4. Waterfront ParkPenobscot County, best early January · 52 checklists that week, 662 in all96%
  5. East Branch Sebasticook River ReservoirPenobscot County, best late October · 84 checklists that week, 827 in all96%

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

Best time of day

In Maine, the Ring-billed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (16% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (510) to judge1 am: too few checklists (517) to judge2 am: too few checklists (581) to judge3 am: too few checklists (3242) to judge4 am: too few checklists (7221) to judge5 am: 7.9% of 19895 checklists6 am: 12% of 54578 checklists7 am: 12% of 92775 checklists8 am: 13% of 86962 checklists9 am: 14% of 78989 checklists10 am: 15% of 70954 checklists11 am: 15% of 59331 checklists12 pm: 16% of 50943 checklists1 pm: 16% of 49775 checklists2 pm: 16% of 49001 checklists3 pm: 15% of 43252 checklists4 pm: 14% of 33413 checklists5 pm: 12% of 25547 checklists6 pm: 10% of 18309 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14287) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5336) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2253) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1518) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (720) 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
January17%16%15%16%
February15%14%12%13%
March15%14%16%15%
April14%11%9.0%7.2%
May6.2%4.8%5.1%5.3%
June4.6%4.4%4.1%4.1%
July6.1%7.8%10%13%
August17%18%20%20%
September22%20%21%21%
October21%23%24%26%
November29%27%27%24%
December22%19%17%16%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Ring-billed Gulls arrive in Maine?
Ring-billed Gulls are in Maine all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from the second week of August, peak in the second week of November (28% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of January. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 4.2% of checklists.
When do Ring-billed Gulls leave Maine?
Ring-billed Gulls never fully leave Maine: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of January, but some are still reported in every week, about 4.2% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Ring-billed Gull in Maine?
The Ring-billed Gull is reported most often in the second week of November, on about 28% of Maine checklists.
Where in Maine are Ring-billed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Androscoggin County, York County, and Penobscot County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Ring-billed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).