Gulls & Terns in North Dakota
Our list for North Dakota has 12 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 2 residents, 5 summer visitors and 5 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in North Dakota 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
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanSummer visitorCommon32–36 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorCommon22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusPassage migrantCommon53–65 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSummer visitorUncommon33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaPassage migrantUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Apr–Dec
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesPassage migrantUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Oct–Jan
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusResidentUncommon62–68 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusPassage migrantUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRegularly May–Oct
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaResidentUncommon37–41 cmRegularly Nov
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantUncommon27–33 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
- 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
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