Gulls & Terns in Alberta
Our list for Alberta has 13 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 7 summer visitors, 5 passage migrants and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Alberta in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 13, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisSummer visitorCommon43–54 cmRegularly Mar–Nov
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanSummer visitorCommon32–36 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorCommon22–26 cmRegularly May–Aug
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusSummer visitorCommon53–65 cmRegularly Mar–Nov
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaSummer visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSummer visitorUncommon33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRegularly May–Sep
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusPassage migrantRare52–64 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly May–Oct
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesPassage migrantRare52–60 cmRegularly Oct–May
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusPassage migrantRare62–68 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaScarceRare37–41 cm
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaPassage migrantRare33–39 cmRegularly May–Jun
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Sabine's Gull 27–33 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Franklin's Gull 32–36 cm
- Forster's Tern 33–36 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Kittiwake 37–41 cm
- Ring-billed Gull 43–54 cm
- Iceland Gull 52–60 cm
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 cm
- American Herring Gull 53–65 cm
- Glaucous Gull 62–68 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made