Gulls & Terns in Northern Ireland
Our list for Northern Ireland has 19 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 4 residents, 6 summer visitors, 1 winter visitor, 6 passage migrants and 2 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Northern Ireland in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 19, most common first
European Herring GullLarus argentatusResidentCommon55–67 cmRecorded all year
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusResidentCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusSummer visitorCommon52–64 cmRecorded all year
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentCommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Common GullLarus canusResidentCommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorCommon31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaSummer visitorCommon37–41 cmRecorded all year
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisSummer visitorCommon36–41 cmRegularly Mar–Sep
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorUncommon33–39 cmRegularly May–Oct
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusSummer visitorUncommon37–40 cmRecorded all year
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusPassage migrantUncommon25–30 cmRegularly May–Dec
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantUncommon27–33 cmRegularly Aug–Sep
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusPassage migrantUncommon62–68 cmRegularly Jan–Mar
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaPassage migrantUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Dec–Aug
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Black TernChlidonias nigerScarceRare22–26 cm
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiPassage migrantRare33–41 cmRegularly Jul
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisScarceRare43–54 cm
Little TernSternula albifronsPassage migrantRare21–25 cmRegularly Jul
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Little Tern 21–25 cm
- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Little Gull 25–30 cm
- Sabine's Gull 27–33 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Roseate Tern 33–41 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
- Ring-billed Gull 43–54 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