Gulls & Terns in Minnesota
Our list for Minnesota has 12 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 5 summer visitors, 4 winter visitors and 3 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Minnesota in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 12, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisSummer visitorCommon43–54 cmRegularly Mar–Dec
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusWinter visitorCommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanSummer visitorUncommon32–36 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorUncommon22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaPassage migrantUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorUncommon62–68 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSummer visitorUncommon33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRegularly May–Oct
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusWinter visitorRare64–79 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusPassage migrantRare52–64 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
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
- 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