WhenToBird

Nycticorax nycticorax · Ardeidae

When Do Black-crowned Night Herons Arrive in Alabama?

Adult Black-crowned Night-Heron
Photo: jubileej, CC0 1.0 via iNaturalist

Black-crowned Night Herons arrive in Alabama in late February, peak in mid August (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of February.

When to look

First arrivalsFeb 22-28late February
Common byFeb 22-28late February
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone byFeb 8-14the second week of February

Best: mid August. First arrivals late February; most are gone by the second week of February. Peak: on about 1.7% of Alabama checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Deccommon

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.8% of 8642 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.9% of 6607 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.8% of 6680 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.9% of 9008 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.5% of 6642 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 7568 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.3% of 9929 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 6490 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.4% of 6458 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.4% of 6570 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 6773 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.4% of 10830 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 8995 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.6% of 10390 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.6% of 12700 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.6% of 14225 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 9140 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.6% of 8111 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.6% of 6353 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 8318 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.9% of 5231 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.1% of 4757 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.8% of 4646 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.0% of 5740 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.0% of 4694 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.3% of 4178 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.6% of 4109 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.6% of 6000 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.6% of 4666 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.5% of 4468 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.3% of 4474 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.1% of 6494 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.3% of 5434 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.8% of 5216 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.6% of 5162 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.6% of 7474 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.6% of 6916 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.5% of 7332 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.6% of 6038 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.3% of 7071 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.4% of 5207 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.5% of 4883 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.4% of 5122 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.7% of 7130 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.6% of 4897 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 4738 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.6% of 5321 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.7% of 9158 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Alabama that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in Alabama

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lawrence CountyBest the second week of September · 30 checklists that week, 1,969 in all52%
  2. Colbert CountyBest early September · 147 checklists that week, 4,794 in all18%
  3. Barbour CountyBest mid July · 27 checklists that week, 2,947 in all14%
  4. Etowah CountyBest the second week of June · 29 checklists that week, 1,492 in all9.9%
  5. Calhoun CountyBest mid November · 59 checklists that week, 4,218 in all9.4%
  6. St. Clair CountyBest early June · 25 checklists that week, 1,040 in all8.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. East LakeJefferson County, best late January · 26 checklists that week, 335 in all90%
  2. Wheeler Reservoir Retained LandLawrence County, best late July · 30 checklists that week, 841 in all87%
  3. Swan Lake (historical)Limestone County, best late January · 22 checklists that week, 193 in all81%
  4. Johnson LakeColbert County, best mid August · 40 checklists that week, 895 in all33%
  5. State Cattle Ranch LakesHale County, best early August · 20 checklists that week, 154 in all19%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Alabama, the Black-crowned Night Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (1.0% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (109) to judge1 am: too few checklists (111) to judge2 am: too few checklists (112) to judge3 am: too few checklists (143) to judge4 am: too few checklists (303) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4125) to judge6 am: 0.8% of 26677 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 42599 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 39919 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 34699 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 28551 checklists11 am: 0.8% of 23505 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 20345 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 18964 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 20110 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 20685 checklists4 pm: 0.7% of 19041 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 13807 checklists6 pm: 1.2% of 8507 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (3367) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (637) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (295) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (233) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (141) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0.8%0.9%0.8%0.9%
February0.5%0.3%0.3%0.3%
March0.4%0.4%0.3%0.4%
April0.4%0.6%0.6%0.6%
May0.7%0.6%0.6%0.5%
June0.9%1.1%0.8%1.0%
July1.0%1.3%1.6%1.6%
August1.6%1.5%1.3%2.1%
September1.3%0.8%0.6%0.6%
October0.6%0.5%0.6%0.3%
November0.4%0.5%0.4%0.7%
December0.6%0.4%0.6%0.7%

Neighboring states

  • Mississippi: arrives the second week of April, 6 weeks later than Alabama
  • Georgia: year-round, peaks the second week of October
  • Tennessee: arrives late March, 4 weeks later than Alabama
  • Louisiana: year-round, peaks the second week of July

Common questions

When do Black-crowned Night Herons arrive in Alabama?
Black-crowned Night Herons arrive in Alabama in late February, peak in mid August (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of February.
When do Black-crowned Night Herons leave Alabama?
Most Black-crowned Night Herons have left Alabama by the second week of February, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Black-crowned Night Heron in Alabama?
The Black-crowned Night Heron is reported most often in mid August, on about 1.7% of Alabama checklists.
Where in Alabama are Black-crowned Night Herons seen most often?
By county, Lawrence County, Colbert County, and Barbour County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-crowned Night Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).