Bird

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Larus fuscus

A winter visitor to Florida, found in 26 of 67 counties and 12 habitats.

Here: Winter
Nesting: Not known to nest here
Range: 26 of 67 counties
Habitats: 12

Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, whole bird — **Adult**. (c) Vsevolod Rudyi, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 729106211. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: Winter
Nesting: Not known to nest here
Range: 26 of 67 counties
Habitats: 12
Habitat models: Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Florida 12

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 12

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach; Unconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Southeast Florida Beach; South Florida Shell Hash Beach; Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach; Southwest Florida Beach; Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, FloridaWhite Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

WinterMartin Johnson Heade, On the San Sebastian River (c. 1883-90): a tidal river winding through flat marsh under storm clouds at sunset. San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, FloridaOn the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. Public domain. Source record.

WinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier; South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh; Floridian Highlands Freshwater MarshMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art)*The Great Florida Marsh*, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. Public domain. Source record.

WinterOpen Water (Fresh); Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural LakeshoreMartin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900)*Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise"*, Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

WinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)Thomas Moran, Fort George Island (1878): a tidal shore of wet sand and shallow water at the river mouth, with cabbage palms and a beached ship. Fort George Island, Florida (Thomas Moran, 1878; Smithsonian American Art Museum)*Fort George Island, Florida*, Thomas Moran, 1878. Public domain. Source record.

WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; South Florida Bayhead Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Ocklawaha River, FloridaFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

WinterCentral Florida Herbaceous Pondshore; Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Winter

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

WinterFlorida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Mangrove swamps

Tidal forests and thickets of red, black and white mangrove along sheltered tropical and subtropical shores.

Winter

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

WinterDeveloped, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh; Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh

Other habitats in its models (20)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Florida. Those recorded in Florida first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (9)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
Louisiana Beach Winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Winter.
Texas Coastal Bend Beach Winter.
Upper Texas Coast Beach Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.

Northeast (4)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Sandy Beach Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Winter.

Land cover and other classes (7)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
Open Water (Aquaculture) Winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
Unconsolidated Shore Winter.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Florida

Winter: does not nest here, in 26 of 67 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Florida, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.