WhenToBird

Larus delawarensis · Laridae

When Do Ring-billed Gulls Arrive in Ohio?

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

Ring-billed Gulls are in Ohio all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from mid October, peak in mid November (29% of checklists), and fall back by early February. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 7.9% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 15-21mid October
PeakNov 15-21mid November
Fall back byFeb 1-7early February
FewestJun 15-21mid June

Best: mid November. Here all year; numbers build from mid October and fall back by early February. Peak: on about 29% of Ohio checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  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: 25% of 46637 checklistsJan 8-14: 22% of 31056 checklistsJan 15-21: 20% of 30129 checklistsJan 22-31: 20% of 38665 checklistsFeb 1-7: 19% of 27203 checklistsFeb 8-14: 17% of 30626 checklistsFeb 15-21: 15% of 40705 checklistsFeb 22-28: 23% of 31391 checklistsMar 1-7: 24% of 32914 checklistsMar 8-14: 22% of 33973 checklistsMar 15-21: 21% of 33678 checklistsMar 22-31: 19% of 49889 checklistsApr 1-7: 16% of 41225 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 47174 checklistsApr 15-21: 13% of 47017 checklistsApr 22-30: 12% of 73055 checklistsMay 1-7: 13% of 80637 checklistsMay 8-14: 15% of 102552 checklistsMay 15-21: 12% of 64582 checklistsMay 22-31: 10% of 52766 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.1% of 29279 checklistsJun 8-14: 8.0% of 25773 checklistsJun 15-21: 7.7% of 23163 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.0% of 27794 checklistsJul 1-7: 11% of 23334 checklistsJul 8-14: 13% of 22147 checklistsJul 15-21: 14% of 20998 checklistsJul 22-31: 16% of 29749 checklistsAug 1-7: 18% of 22899 checklistsAug 8-14: 19% of 21972 checklistsAug 15-21: 21% of 22215 checklistsAug 22-31: 21% of 35087 checklistsSep 1-7: 21% of 29148 checklistsSep 8-14: 19% of 28042 checklistsSep 15-21: 19% of 26751 checklistsSep 22-30: 19% of 32398 checklistsOct 1-7: 17% of 26209 checklistsOct 8-14: 17% of 26809 checklistsOct 15-21: 20% of 23504 checklistsOct 22-31: 25% of 33269 checklistsNov 1-7: 27% of 25563 checklistsNov 8-14: 28% of 23810 checklistsNov 15-21: 30% of 22127 checklistsNov 22-30: 28% of 29449 checklistsDec 1-7: 28% of 22370 checklistsDec 8-14: 26% of 21581 checklistsDec 15-21: 23% of 24232 checklistsDec 22-31: 22% of 36084 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 Ohio 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 Ohio

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Shelby CountyBest early December · 21 checklists that week, 1,659 in all77%
  2. Ashtabula CountyBest the second week of December · 99 checklists that week, 12,390 in all70%
  3. Mercer CountyBest mid October · 46 checklists that week, 2,091 in all62%
  4. Clark CountyBest mid November · 220 checklists that week, 14,637 in all61%
  5. Erie CountyBest late November · 458 checklists that week, 30,456 in all60%
  6. Lorain CountyBest mid November · 841 checklists that week, 59,913 in all57%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clarence J Brown ReservoirClark County, best early July · 38 checklists that week, 1,361 in all100%
  2. Conneaut HarborAshtabula County, best late October · 28 checklists that week, 1,284 in all100%
  3. Deer Creek Recreation AreaPickaway County, best the second week of October · 24 checklists that week, 625 in all100%
  4. Mosquito Creek State ParkTrumbull County, best late August · 22 checklists that week, 453 in all100%
  5. Mosquito Creek Lake (south 2)Trumbull County, best late August · 23 checklists that week, 582 in all100%
  6. Main Street BeachErie County, best mid November · 25 checklists that week, 713 in all100%

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

Best time of day

In Ohio, the Ring-billed Gull is most often listed on checklists started between 1 and 3 pm (19% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (574) to judge1 am: too few checklists (609) to judge2 am: too few checklists (466) to judge3 am: too few checklists (478) to judge4 am: too few checklists (662) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4366) to judge6 am: 16% of 43093 checklists7 am: 17% of 142017 checklists8 am: 18% of 205296 checklists9 am: 18% of 196322 checklists10 am: 19% of 170882 checklists11 am: 19% of 144567 checklists12 pm: 19% of 126551 checklists1 pm: 19% of 117855 checklists2 pm: 19% of 112869 checklists3 pm: 18% of 109786 checklists4 pm: 17% of 103116 checklists5 pm: 15% of 78409 checklists6 pm: 12% of 56785 checklists7 pm: 9.8% of 37923 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (14954) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2710) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (854) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (486) 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
January25%22%20%20%
February19%17%15%23%
March24%22%21%19%
April16%14%13%12%
May13%15%12%10%
June8.1%8.0%7.7%8.0%
July11%13%14%16%
August18%19%21%21%
September21%19%19%19%
October17%17%20%25%
November27%28%30%28%
December28%26%23%22%

Neighboring states

  • West Virginia: arrives early November, 2 weeks later than Ohio
  • Indiana: arrives early October, 2 weeks earlier than Ohio
  • Michigan: arrives the second week of July, 13 weeks earlier than Ohio
  • Kentucky: arrives mid July, 12 weeks earlier than Ohio

Common questions

When do Ring-billed Gulls arrive in Ohio?
Ring-billed Gulls are in Ohio all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from mid October, peak in mid November (29% of checklists), and fall back by early February. In the quietest week (mid June) they are still on about 7.9% of checklists.
When do Ring-billed Gulls leave Ohio?
Ring-billed Gulls never fully leave Ohio: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by early February, but some are still reported in every week, about 7.9% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Ring-billed Gull in Ohio?
The Ring-billed Gull is reported most often in mid November, on about 29% of Ohio checklists.
Where in Ohio are Ring-billed Gulls seen most often?
By county, Shelby County, Ashtabula County, and Mercer County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Ring-billed Gull (counties with at least 200 checklists).