Gulls & Terns in Donegal
Our list for Donegal has 13 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 5 residents, 5 summer visitors and 3 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Donegal in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 13, most common first
European Herring GullLarus argentatusResidentCommon55–67 cmRecorded all year
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentCommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Common GullLarus canusResidentCommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusResidentCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusSummer visitorCommon52–64 cmRegularly Mar–Nov
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaSummer visitorCommon37–41 cmRegularly Jan–Oct
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesPassage migrantCommon52–60 cmRegularly Feb–Mar
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisSummer visitorCommon36–41 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusPassage migrantCommon62–68 cmRegularly Dec
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRegularly May–Jul
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorUncommon33–39 cmRegularly May–Aug
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusResidentUncommon37–40 cmRegularly Jul
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantUncommon27–33 cmRegularly Aug
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Sabine's Gull 27–33 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Sandwich Tern 36–41 cm
- Mediterranean Gull 37–40 cm
- Kittiwake 37–41 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 cm
- Common Gull 40–46 cm
- Iceland Gull 52–60 cm
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 cm
- European Herring Gull 55–67 cm
- Glaucous Gull 62–68 cm
- Great Black-backed Gull 64–79 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