WhenToBird

Ardea herodias · Ardeidae

When Do Great Blue Herons Arrive in New York?

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

Great Blue Herons are in New York all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from early July, peak in late August (25% of checklists), and fall back by late October. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 3.9% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildJul 1-7early July
PeakAug 22-31late August
Fall back byOct 22-31late October
FewestFeb 15-21mid February

Best: late August. Here all year; numbers build from early July and fall back by late October. Peak: on about 25% of New York checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 6.5% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 6.1% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 5.6% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 5.6% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 5.0% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.9% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 3.5% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 4.3% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 4.0% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 4.5% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 6.3% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 10% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 12% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 12% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 12% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 13% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 13% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 13% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 14% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 15% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 14% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 13% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 13% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 15% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 18% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 20% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 22% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 24% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 24% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 25% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 25% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 25% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 23% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 22% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 21% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 20% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 18% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 17% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 15% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 13% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 11% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 11% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 10% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 9.0% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 8.4% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 7.8% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 7.2% of 62470 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 York 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 York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Seneca CountyBest late July · 1246 checklists that week, 47,387 in all70%
  2. Genesee CountyBest early June · 574 checklists that week, 17,726 in all58%
  3. Clinton CountyBest the second week of September · 130 checklists that week, 8,764 in all47%
  4. Rockland CountyBest early August · 673 checklists that week, 35,579 in all46%
  5. Sullivan CountyBest mid September · 422 checklists that week, 28,620 in all44%
  6. Tioga CountyBest mid August · 283 checklists that week, 21,713 in all43%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Catharine Creek WmaSchuyler County, best late July · 33 checklists that week, 685 in all100%
  2. Town of Esopus LandUlster County, best early August · 39 checklists that week, 938 in all100%
  3. Wappinger Lake (Wappingers Falls)Dutchess County, best late July · 21 checklists that week, 603 in all100%
  4. Hillside LakeDutchess County, best late August · 33 checklists that week, 187 in all100%
  5. Black Lake, best the second week of June · 26 checklists that week, 807 in all98%
  6. Esopus Meadows PointUlster County, best late August · 21 checklists that week, 444 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In New York, 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 (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 18% of 124869 checklists7 am: 15% of 298506 checklists8 am: 13% of 337334 checklists9 am: 13% of 307787 checklists10 am: 13% of 270801 checklists11 am: 12% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 12% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 11% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 11% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 12% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 12% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 13% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 15% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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
January6.5%6.1%5.6%5.6%
February5.0%3.9%3.5%4.3%
March4.0%4.5%6.3%10%
April12%12%12%13%
May13%13%14%15%
June14%13%13%14%
July15%18%20%22%
August24%24%25%25%
September25%23%22%21%
October20%18%17%15%
November13%11%11%10%
December9.0%8.4%7.8%7.2%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives early May, 8 weeks earlier than New York
  • New Jersey: year-round, peaks early August
  • Pennsylvania: arrives early July, in the same week than New York
  • Vermont: arrives mid March, 14 weeks earlier than New York

Common questions

When do Great Blue Herons arrive in New York?
Great Blue Herons are in New York all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from early July, peak in late August (25% of checklists), and fall back by late October. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 3.9% of checklists.
When do Great Blue Herons leave New York?
Great Blue Herons never fully leave New York: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late October, but some are still reported in every week, about 3.9% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Great Blue Heron in New York?
The Great Blue Heron is reported most often in late August, on about 25% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Great Blue Herons seen most often?
By county, Seneca County, Genesee County, and Clinton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Blue Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).