WhenToBird

Larus delawarensis · Laridae

When Do Ring-billed Gulls Arrive in New York?

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

The Ring-billed Gull is in New York all year. It turns up on about 33% of checklists at its peak (mid November) and on 9.4% in its quietest week (mid June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekNov 15-21mid November
Quietest weekJun 15-21mid June

Best: mid November. Here all year. Peak: on about 33% of New York 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%40%Jan 1-7: 30% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 29% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 28% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 26% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 25% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 22% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 20% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 28% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 29% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 30% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 29% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 26% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 23% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 20% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 17% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 15% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 12% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 11% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 11% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 10% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.3% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 9.1% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 9.8% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 15% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 18% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 21% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 23% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 24% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 24% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 24% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 24% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 22% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 22% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 23% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 24% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 25% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 26% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 28% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 31% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 32% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 33% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 34% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 31% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 30% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 28% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 29% of 62470 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 York 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 York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kings CountyBest mid January · 2690 checklists that week, 134,897 in all66%
  2. Niagara CountyBest late November · 704 checklists that week, 28,936 in all65%
  3. Seneca CountyBest mid October · 811 checklists that week, 47,387 in all64%
  4. Queens CountyBest mid December · 1513 checklists that week, 76,201 in all58%
  5. Clinton CountyBest late October · 184 checklists that week, 8,764 in all55%
  6. Richmond CountyBest the second week of January · 1298 checklists that week, 55,926 in all55%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sherman CreekNew York County, best early March · 26 checklists that week, 1,266 in all100%
  2. Lake GeorgeWarren County, best late October · 20 checklists that week, 200 in all100%
  3. Buffalo RiverErie County, best early August · 23 checklists that week, 1,628 in all100%
  4. Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk (Seagate)Kings County, best late November · 22 checklists that week, 324 in all100%
  5. Waterfront ParkDutchess County, best early November · 21 checklists that week, 818 in all100%
  6. Hamlin Beach State ParkMonroe County, best the second week of July · 31 checklists that week, 2,133 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Ring-billed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (25% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 19% of 124869 checklists7 am: 20% of 298506 checklists8 am: 20% of 337334 checklists9 am: 22% of 307787 checklists10 am: 23% of 270801 checklists11 am: 24% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 24% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 25% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 25% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 24% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 21% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 18% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 16% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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
January30%29%28%26%
February25%22%20%28%
March29%30%29%26%
April23%20%17%15%
May12%11%11%11%
June10%9.3%9.1%9.8%
July11%15%18%21%
August23%24%24%24%
September24%22%22%23%
October24%25%26%28%
November31%32%33%34%
December31%30%28%29%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: year-round, peaks the second week of January
  • New Jersey: all year, most in winter, peaks mid January
  • Pennsylvania: winter visitor, peaks early March
  • Vermont: all year, most in fall, peaks early November

Common questions

When do Ring-billed Gulls arrive in New York?
The Ring-billed Gull is in New York all year. It turns up on about 33% of checklists at its peak (mid November) and on 9.4% in its quietest week (mid June).
When do Ring-billed Gulls leave New York?
The Ring-billed Gull does not leave New York: it is reported all year, from 9.4% of checklists in mid June to 33% in mid November.
When is the best time to see a Ring-billed Gull in New York?
The Ring-billed Gull is reported most often in mid November, on about 33% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Ring-billed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Kings County, Niagara County, and Seneca County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Ring-billed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).