Gulls & Terns in Michigan
Our list for Michigan has 15 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 2 residents, 6 summer visitors, 4 winter visitors and 3 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Michigan in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 15, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisResidentCommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusResidentCommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaSummer visitorCommon28–38 cmRegularly Mar–Jan
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusWinter visitorUncommon64–79 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Sep–Jun
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRegularly May–Oct
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly May–Aug
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSummer visitorUncommon33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorUncommon62–68 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusSummer visitorRare25–30 cmRegularly Apr–Dec
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Oct–Jan
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Sep–Nov
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaPassage migrantRare33–39 cmRegularly Sep
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanSummer visitorRare32–36 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Little Gull 25–30 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
- 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