WhenToBird

Larus delawarensis · Laridae

When Do Ring-billed Gulls Arrive in Massachusetts?

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

The Ring-billed Gull is in Massachusetts all year. It turns up on about 23% of checklists at its peak (early December) and on 4.0% in its quietest week (late May).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekDec 1-7early December
Quietest weekMay 22-31late May

Best: early December. Here all year. Peak: on about 23% of Massachusetts checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  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: 22% of 43252 checklistsJan 8-14: 23% of 30096 checklistsJan 15-21: 22% of 28760 checklistsJan 22-31: 21% of 38135 checklistsFeb 1-7: 21% of 26442 checklistsFeb 8-14: 18% of 29034 checklistsFeb 15-21: 16% of 37383 checklistsFeb 22-28: 19% of 29977 checklistsMar 1-7: 19% of 29175 checklistsMar 8-14: 18% of 32399 checklistsMar 15-21: 17% of 34444 checklistsMar 22-31: 15% of 49126 checklistsApr 1-7: 12% of 36456 checklistsApr 8-14: 9.8% of 40908 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.6% of 42078 checklistsApr 22-30: 5.9% of 56465 checklistsMay 1-7: 5.0% of 56994 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.5% of 64079 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.0% of 52020 checklistsMay 22-31: 4.1% of 55402 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.9% of 30682 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.0% of 27557 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.2% of 26163 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.5% of 29576 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.7% of 23931 checklistsJul 8-14: 7.7% of 22389 checklistsJul 15-21: 10% of 22365 checklistsJul 22-31: 12% of 32631 checklistsAug 1-7: 14% of 25133 checklistsAug 8-14: 15% of 24610 checklistsAug 15-21: 16% of 25350 checklistsAug 22-31: 16% of 37198 checklistsSep 1-7: 16% of 27402 checklistsSep 8-14: 15% of 27700 checklistsSep 15-21: 15% of 28398 checklistsSep 22-30: 15% of 34646 checklistsOct 1-7: 15% of 28620 checklistsOct 8-14: 17% of 30144 checklistsOct 15-21: 17% of 28893 checklistsOct 22-31: 20% of 38869 checklistsNov 1-7: 21% of 29782 checklistsNov 8-14: 23% of 27582 checklistsNov 15-21: 22% of 26642 checklistsNov 22-30: 25% of 34390 checklistsDec 1-7: 23% of 25164 checklistsDec 8-14: 22% of 24892 checklistsDec 15-21: 22% of 29022 checklistsDec 22-31: 22% of 44323 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Suffolk CountyBest early January · 2494 checklists that week, 112,443 in all36%
  2. Bristol CountyBest mid December · 1696 checklists that week, 65,262 in all35%
  3. Barnstable CountyBest mid November · 3064 checklists that week, 215,188 in all33%
  4. Plymouth CountyBest early December · 1409 checklists that week, 89,282 in all29%
  5. Berkshire CountyBest the second week of November · 1587 checklists that week, 92,890 in all28%
  6. Dukes CountyBest mid August · 514 checklists that week, 23,670 in all28%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Britland ParkBristol County, best the second week of February · 23 checklists that week, 721 in all100%
  2. Lynn Shore ReservationEssex County, best early February · 85 checklists that week, 894 in all99%
  3. Connecticut River ReservoirHampshire County, best early August · 54 checklists that week, 1,745 in all99%
  4. Lowell Heritage State ParkMiddlesex County, best early February · 21 checklists that week, 354 in all99%
  5. Pontoosuc LakeBerkshire County, best early September · 20 checklists that week, 748 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In Massachusetts, the Ring-billed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (17% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (630) to judge1 am: too few checklists (657) to judge2 am: too few checklists (645) to judge3 am: too few checklists (850) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3787) to judge5 am: too few checklists (29743) to judge6 am: 12% of 108601 checklists7 am: 13% of 186104 checklists8 am: 14% of 185905 checklists9 am: 15% of 166049 checklists10 am: 15% of 150508 checklists11 am: 16% of 131024 checklists12 pm: 17% of 116804 checklists1 pm: 17% of 112055 checklists2 pm: 17% of 110246 checklists3 pm: 15% of 104376 checklists4 pm: 12% of 83736 checklists5 pm: 9.4% of 63723 checklists6 pm: 7.3% of 41435 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (21041) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5240) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1722) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1094) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (704) 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
January22%23%22%21%
February21%18%16%19%
March19%18%17%15%
April12%9.8%7.6%5.9%
May5.0%4.5%4.0%4.1%
June3.9%4.0%4.2%4.5%
July5.7%7.7%10%12%
August14%15%16%16%
September16%15%15%15%
October15%17%17%20%
November21%23%22%25%
December23%22%22%22%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Ring-billed Gulls arrive in Massachusetts?
The Ring-billed Gull is in Massachusetts all year. It turns up on about 23% of checklists at its peak (early December) and on 4.0% in its quietest week (late May).
When do Ring-billed Gulls leave Massachusetts?
The Ring-billed Gull does not leave Massachusetts: it is reported all year, from 4.0% of checklists in late May to 23% in early December.
When is the best time to see a Ring-billed Gull in Massachusetts?
The Ring-billed Gull is reported most often in early December, on about 23% of Massachusetts checklists.
Where in Massachusetts are Ring-billed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Suffolk County, Bristol County, and Barnstable County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Ring-billed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).