WhenToBird

Nycticorax nycticorax · Ardeidae

When Do Black-crowned Night Herons Arrive in New Jersey?

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

Black-crowned Night Herons reach New Jersey in early April, are common by mid April, peak in mid July (5.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 1-7early April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakJul 15-21mid July
Most gone byOct 15-21mid October

Best: mid July. First arrivals early April; most are gone by mid October. Peak: on about 5.1% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 0.3% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.3% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.3% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.4% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.3% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.3% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.2% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.3% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.6% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.2% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.5% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.8% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.4% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.3% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.8% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 3.6% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 3.8% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.9% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 4.3% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 4.8% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 4.8% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 4.8% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.5% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.8% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.2% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.5% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.6% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.0% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 3.3% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.8% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.9% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.9% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.9% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.8% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.6% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.7% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.4% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.6% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.4% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.3% of 26651 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hudson CountyBest early July · 274 checklists that week, 21,191 in all18%
  2. Bergen CountyBest early August · 1050 checklists that week, 73,457 in all16%
  3. Cape May CountyBest early July · 1952 checklists that week, 189,832 in all15%
  4. Cumberland CountyBest late May · 763 checklists that week, 13,927 in all15%
  5. Atlantic CountyBest early July · 384 checklists that week, 28,208 in all14%
  6. Ocean CountyBest mid June · 1188 checklists that week, 87,340 in all6.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ocean City Estuary or MarshCape May County, best early June · 191 checklists that week, 3,666 in all99%
  2. Van Buskirk IslandBergen County, best late March · 32 checklists that week, 143 in all90%
  3. South HarborCape May County, best late June · 27 checklists that week, 860 in all84%
  4. Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management AreaOcean County, best early July · 21 checklists that week, 1,138 in all72%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Black-crowned Night Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (3.4% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (746) to judge1 am: too few checklists (640) to judge2 am: too few checklists (606) to judge3 am: too few checklists (755) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1681) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11258) to judge6 am: 3.4% of 50447 checklists7 am: 1.9% of 118312 checklists8 am: 1.6% of 123273 checklists9 am: 1.6% of 107783 checklists10 am: 1.6% of 97537 checklists11 am: 1.5% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 1.4% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 1.6% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 1.7% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 1.7% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 2.0% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 2.8% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 4.3% of 28122 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14727) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4257) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1273) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (920) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (693) 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
January0.3%0.3%0.3%0.4%
February0.3%0.3%0.2%0.3%
March0.2%0.2%0.3%0.6%
April1.2%1.5%1.8%2.4%
May2.3%2.8%3.6%3.8%
June3.9%4.3%4.8%4.8%
July4.8%5.5%4.8%5.2%
August4.5%4.6%4.0%3.3%
September2.8%2.9%2.9%2.9%
October2.8%2.6%1.7%1.4%
November0.7%0.6%0.6%0.3%
December0.4%0.5%0.3%0.3%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives late March, 1 week earlier than New Jersey
  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of April, 1 week later than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives the second week of April, 1 week later than New Jersey
  • Maryland: arrives late March, 1 week earlier than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Black-crowned Night Herons arrive in New Jersey?
Black-crowned Night Herons reach New Jersey in early April, are common by mid April, peak in mid July (5.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.
When do Black-crowned Night Herons leave New Jersey?
Most Black-crowned Night Herons have left New Jersey by mid October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late October.
When is the best time to see a Black-crowned Night Heron in New Jersey?
The Black-crowned Night Heron is reported most often in mid July, on about 5.1% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Black-crowned Night Herons seen most often?
By county, Hudson County, Bergen County, and Cape May County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black-crowned Night Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).