Black-legged Kittiwake
Black-legged KittiwakeBlack-legged KittiwakeBlack-legged KittiwakeBlack-legged Kittiwake

Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
<5% · Rare
overall probability at Point Pelee National Park
110 Verified records at Point Pelee National Park
November Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's active during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

The black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Larus tridactylus. The English name is derived from its call, a shrill 'kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake'. In North America, this species is known as the black-legged kittiwake to differentiate it from the red-legged kittiwake, but in Europe, where it is the only member of the genus, it is often known just as kittiwake. Wikipedia →

<5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-legged Kittiwake sighting in Point Pelee National Park, based on 110 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Closest Relatives at Point Pelee National Park

Ring-billed Gull
LC

Ring-billed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus delawarensis

60–70% · Likely
American Herring Gull
LC

American Herring Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus smithsonianus

50–60% · Likely
Bonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

50–60% · Likely
Common Tern
LC

Common Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sterna hirundo

20–30% · Possible
Great Black-backed Gull
LC

Great Black-backed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus marinus

20–30% · Possible
Black Tern
LC

Black Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chlidonias niger

10–20% · With luck
Lesser Black-backed Gull
LC

Lesser Black-backed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus fuscus

5–10% · With luck
Caspian Tern
LC

Caspian Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Hydroprogne caspia

5–10% · With luck
Forster's Tern
LC

Forster's Tern

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sterna forsteri

5–10% · With luck
Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Insufficient data
Little Gull
LC

Little Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Hydrocoloeus minutus

<5% · Rare
Iceland Gull
LC

Iceland Gull

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Larus glaucoides

<5% · Rare

📅 Monthly Probability

<5
Jan
<5
Feb
<5
Mar
<5
Apr
<5
May
<5
Jun
<5
Jul
<5
Aug
<5
Sep
<5
Oct
<5
Nov
<5
Dec

☀️ When They're Spotted

Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)

☀️Diurnal
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Kenai Fjords National Park 🇺🇸 United States
70–80%
2 Katmai National Park 🇺🇸 United States
10–20%
3 Vatnajokull National Park 🇮🇸 Iceland
10–20%
4 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park 🇺🇸 United States
5–10%
5 Gros Morne National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
5–10%
6 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
5–10%
7 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 Cape Breton Highlands National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
9 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
10 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
11 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
12 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
13 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
14 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
15 Thingvellir National Park 🇮🇸 Iceland
Insufficient data
16 Kluane National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data
17 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Insufficient data
18 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
19 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
20 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Black-legged Kittiwake in Point Pelee National Park?

About 1% of wildlife watchers report a Black-legged Kittiwake sighting in Point Pelee National Park, based on 110 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Black-legged Kittiwake in Point Pelee National Park?

November has the highest sighting rate for Black-legged Kittiwake in Point Pelee National Park in our monthly data.

← Back to Point Pelee National Park