WhenToBird

Larus delawarensis · Laridae

When Do Ring-billed Gulls Arrive in New Hampshire?

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

Ring-billed Gulls are winter birds in New Hampshire: the first arrive in early July, they are common by late July, peak in mid November (16% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of April.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 1-7early July
Common byJul 22-31late July
PeakNov 15-21mid November
Most gone byApr 8-14the second week of April

Best: mid November. First arrivals early July; most are gone by the second week of April. Peak: on about 16% of New Hampshire checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Junrare
  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%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 13% of 8253 checklistsJan 8-14: 11% of 5998 checklistsJan 15-21: 10% of 5734 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.9% of 7776 checklistsFeb 1-7: 8.2% of 5253 checklistsFeb 8-14: 7.5% of 6802 checklistsFeb 15-21: 7.0% of 8852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 10% of 5792 checklistsMar 1-7: 11% of 6187 checklistsMar 8-14: 12% of 6977 checklistsMar 15-21: 11% of 7863 checklistsMar 22-31: 10% of 11746 checklistsApr 1-7: 8.4% of 9329 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.3% of 10499 checklistsApr 15-21: 4.8% of 10376 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.8% of 13086 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.9% of 13198 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.8% of 14980 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.7% of 12487 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.6% of 14294 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.2% of 8974 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.8% of 8395 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.9% of 7670 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.3% of 9188 checklistsJul 1-7: 2.6% of 7707 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.5% of 6554 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.9% of 6636 checklistsJul 22-31: 6.2% of 9599 checklistsAug 1-7: 8.3% of 6436 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.6% of 6477 checklistsAug 15-21: 9.4% of 6510 checklistsAug 22-31: 9.9% of 9762 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.5% of 6700 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.4% of 6012 checklistsSep 15-21: 8.7% of 6238 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.3% of 7619 checklistsOct 1-7: 9.1% of 6702 checklistsOct 8-14: 9.4% of 6863 checklistsOct 15-21: 13% of 6284 checklistsOct 22-31: 13% of 8287 checklistsNov 1-7: 16% of 7584 checklistsNov 8-14: 16% of 6056 checklistsNov 15-21: 15% of 5597 checklistsNov 22-30: 16% of 7140 checklistsDec 1-7: 14% of 4623 checklistsDec 8-14: 15% of 4920 checklistsDec 15-21: 11% of 6416 checklistsDec 22-31: 13% of 7659 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 New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Belknap CountyBest the second week of November · 321 checklists that week, 13,295 in all35%
  2. Rockingham CountyBest early November · 1793 checklists that week, 84,864 in all34%
  3. Strafford CountyBest early December · 567 checklists that week, 41,888 in all31%
  4. Merrimack CountyBest mid March · 816 checklists that week, 36,980 in all15%
  5. Hillsborough CountyBest mid November · 706 checklists that week, 50,125 in all12%
  6. Carroll CountyBest early December · 302 checklists that week, 30,580 in all7.5%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Nutt PondHillsborough County, best mid November · 23 checklists that week, 698 in all98%
  2. Oyster River Reservoir (Beards Creek)Strafford County, best late November · 37 checklists that week, 755 in all93%
  3. Cocheco River ReservoirStrafford County, best mid November · 53 checklists that week, 2,281 in all91%
  4. Oyster River ReservoirStrafford County, best mid February · 30 checklists that week, 830 in all91%
  5. Town of Exeter Sewerage Lagoons ReservoirRockingham County, best late October · 68 checklists that week, 2,293 in all89%

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

Best time of day

In New Hampshire, the Ring-billed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (10% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (219) to judge1 am: too few checklists (192) to judge2 am: too few checklists (176) to judge3 am: too few checklists (234) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1042) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6352) to judge6 am: 6.6% of 23140 checklists7 am: 6.6% of 43401 checklists8 am: 8.1% of 48039 checklists9 am: 8.2% of 43328 checklists10 am: 9.3% of 37073 checklists11 am: 9.6% of 32028 checklists12 pm: 10% of 27396 checklists1 pm: 10% of 25182 checklists2 pm: 9.6% of 24318 checklists3 pm: 8.2% of 21974 checklists4 pm: 5.5% of 17958 checklists5 pm: 5.5% of 14528 checklists6 pm: 3.7% of 9144 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (5341) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (1845) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (578) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (346) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (256) 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
January13%11%10%9.9%
February8.2%7.5%7.0%10%
March11%12%11%10%
April8.4%6.3%4.8%3.8%
May3.9%2.8%2.7%2.6%
June2.2%1.8%1.9%2.3%
July2.6%4.5%4.9%6.2%
August8.3%8.6%9.4%9.9%
September9.5%9.4%8.7%9.3%
October9.1%9.4%13%13%
November16%16%15%16%
December14%15%11%13%

Neighboring states

  • Massachusetts: year-round, peaks early December
  • Vermont: arrives late July, 3 weeks later than New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island: year-round, peaks early December
  • Maine: arrives the second week of August, 5 weeks later than New Hampshire

Common questions

When do Ring-billed Gulls arrive in New Hampshire?
Ring-billed Gulls are winter birds in New Hampshire: the first arrive in early July, they are common by late July, peak in mid November (16% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of April.
When do Ring-billed Gulls leave New Hampshire?
Most Ring-billed Gulls have left New Hampshire by the second week of April, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of May.
When is the best time to see a Ring-billed Gull in New Hampshire?
The Ring-billed Gull is reported most often in mid November, on about 16% of New Hampshire checklists.
Where in New Hampshire are Ring-billed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Belknap County, Rockingham County, and Strafford County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Ring-billed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).