WhenToBird

Ardea herodias · Ardeidae

When Do Great Blue Herons Arrive in Nebraska?

Adult Great Blue Heron
Photo: mostbittern, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Great Blue Herons reach Nebraska in early March, are common by late March, peak in mid August (24% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of November.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 1-7early March
Common byMar 22-31late March
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone byNov 8-14the second week of November

Best: mid August. First arrivals early March; most are gone by the second week of November. Peak: on about 24% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 1.8% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.8% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.5% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.7% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.1% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.0% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.4% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.9% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 2.7% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 5.7% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 8.8% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 14% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 15% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 18% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 16% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 15% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 13% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 13% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 14% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 14% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 14% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 15% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 17% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 18% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 21% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 21% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 21% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 24% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 24% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 24% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 22% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 23% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 23% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 22% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 19% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 17% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 14% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 11% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 9.7% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 8.9% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 7.2% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.0% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.5% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.1% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.7% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.1% of 3746 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Harlan CountyBest mid September · 22 checklists that week, 1,276 in all65%
  2. Jefferson CountyBest the second week of September · 20 checklists that week, 804 in all59%
  3. Hitchcock CountyBest the second week of October · 14 checklists that week, 441 in all59%
  4. Stanton CountyBest mid August · 10 checklists that week, 835 in all57%
  5. Platte CountyBest mid September · 16 checklists that week, 1,287 in all55%
  6. Butler CountyBest mid July · 11 checklists that week, 589 in all55%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lake MinatareScotts Bluff County, best the second week of September · 21 checklists that week, 383 in all92%
  2. Salt LakeLancaster County, best mid July · 45 checklists that week, 2,553 in all90%
  3. Flanagan Lake & Recreation AreaDouglas County, best late September · 43 checklists that week, 1,089 in all89%
  4. Cody ParkLincoln County, best mid March · 26 checklists that week, 338 in all85%
  5. Wehrspann Recreation AreaSarpy County, best late September · 21 checklists that week, 716 in all84%
  6. Prairie Queen Recreation AreaSarpy County, best late July · 37 checklists that week, 467 in all83%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Great Blue Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (16% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (60) to judge1 am: too few checklists (70) to judge2 am: too few checklists (74) to judge3 am: too few checklists (97) to judge4 am: too few checklists (318) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1382) to judge6 am: 18% of 6945 checklists7 am: 15% of 19066 checklists8 am: 13% of 24661 checklists9 am: 12% of 23438 checklists10 am: 11% of 20424 checklists11 am: 11% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 10% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 11% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 11% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 11% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 11% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 12% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 15% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 16% of 6334 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2406) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (531) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (201) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (82) 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
January1.8%1.8%1.5%1.7%
February1.1%1.0%1.0%1.4%
March1.9%2.7%5.7%8.8%
April14%15%18%16%
May15%13%13%14%
June13%14%14%15%
July17%18%21%21%
August21%24%24%24%
September22%23%23%22%
October19%17%14%11%
November9.7%8.9%7.2%4.0%
December3.5%2.1%2.7%2.1%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: year-round, peaks mid August
  • South Dakota: arrives early March, in the same week than Nebraska
  • Iowa: arrives early March, in the same week than Nebraska
  • Missouri: year-round, peaks mid August

Common questions

When do Great Blue Herons arrive in Nebraska?
Great Blue Herons reach Nebraska in early March, are common by late March, peak in mid August (24% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of November.
When do Great Blue Herons leave Nebraska?
Most Great Blue Herons have left Nebraska by the second week of November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid January.
When is the best time to see a Great Blue Heron in Nebraska?
The Great Blue Heron is reported most often in mid August, on about 24% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Great Blue Herons seen most often?
By county, Harlan County, Jefferson County, and Hitchcock County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Blue Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).