Gulls & Terns in Utah
Our list for Utah has 11 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 3 summer visitors, 6 winter visitors and 2 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Utah in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 11, most common first
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorCommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanSummer visitorCommon32–36 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Forster's TernSterna forsteriSummer visitorCommon33–36 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusWinter visitorUncommon53–65 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Aug–May
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusWinter visitorUncommon52–64 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantUncommon27–33 cmRegularly Sep–Nov
Common TernSterna hirundoPassage migrantRare31–35 cmRegularly May–Oct
Black TernChlidonias nigerSummer visitorRare22–26 cmRegularly May–Sep
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusWinter visitorRare62–68 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
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
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