Gulls & Terns in New Hampshire
Our list for New Hampshire has 15 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 3 residents, 4 summer visitors, 5 winter visitors, 1 passage migrant and 2 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in New Hampshire in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 15, most common first
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusResidentCommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorCommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentCommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRegularly May–Sep
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorUncommon62–68 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaSummer visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Apr–Jan
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Aug–May
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaWinter visitorUncommon37–41 cmRegularly Oct–Feb
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiSummer visitorUncommon33–41 cmRegularly May–Aug
Forster's TernSterna forsteriResidentRare33–36 cmRegularly Aug–Sep
Black TernChlidonias nigerPassage migrantRare22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorRare33–39 cmRegularly May–Aug
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusScarceRare25–30 cm
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusScarceRare38–44 cm
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Little Gull 25–30 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Forster's Tern 33–36 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Roseate Tern 33–41 cm
- Kittiwake 37–41 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 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