WhenToBird

Ardea herodias · Ardeidae

When Do Great Blue Herons Arrive in North Carolina?

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

The Great Blue Heron is in North Carolina all year. It turns up on about 24% of checklists at its peak (late November) and on 13% in its quietest week (the second week of June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekNov 22-30late November
Quietest weekJun 8-14the second week of June

Best: late November. Here all year. Peak: on about 24% of North Carolina checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 20% of 30085 checklistsJan 8-14: 20% of 22728 checklistsJan 15-21: 19% of 24292 checklistsJan 22-31: 19% of 34122 checklistsFeb 1-7: 17% of 26352 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 29663 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 41515 checklistsFeb 22-28: 17% of 24318 checklistsMar 1-7: 17% of 23408 checklistsMar 8-14: 18% of 22658 checklistsMar 15-21: 18% of 22784 checklistsMar 22-31: 18% of 36034 checklistsApr 1-7: 18% of 28131 checklistsApr 8-14: 18% of 29190 checklistsApr 15-21: 17% of 32847 checklistsApr 22-30: 17% of 47966 checklistsMay 1-7: 16% of 37076 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 36228 checklistsMay 15-21: 15% of 30378 checklistsMay 22-31: 14% of 40237 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 27551 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 26473 checklistsJun 15-21: 13% of 22789 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 27615 checklistsJul 1-7: 15% of 20022 checklistsJul 8-14: 15% of 19315 checklistsJul 15-21: 16% of 18934 checklistsJul 22-31: 17% of 25600 checklistsAug 1-7: 19% of 17987 checklistsAug 8-14: 19% of 17307 checklistsAug 15-21: 21% of 17080 checklistsAug 22-31: 22% of 25844 checklistsSep 1-7: 22% of 20818 checklistsSep 8-14: 21% of 20070 checklistsSep 15-21: 21% of 21984 checklistsSep 22-30: 21% of 26979 checklistsOct 1-7: 21% of 22605 checklistsOct 8-14: 22% of 22677 checklistsOct 15-21: 23% of 21407 checklistsOct 22-31: 23% of 25927 checklistsNov 1-7: 23% of 18830 checklistsNov 8-14: 23% of 18418 checklistsNov 15-21: 24% of 19101 checklistsNov 22-30: 24% of 25709 checklistsDec 1-7: 25% of 18856 checklistsDec 8-14: 23% of 18745 checklistsDec 15-21: 21% of 22478 checklistsDec 22-31: 22% of 34796 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Montgomery CountyBest mid September · 10 checklists that week, 1,895 in all69%
  2. Wilson CountyBest mid September · 102 checklists that week, 5,078 in all68%
  3. Vance CountyBest the second week of October · 19 checklists that week, 1,721 in all58%
  4. Chatham CountyBest mid October · 688 checklists that week, 33,471 in all55%
  5. Alexander CountyBest late August · 13 checklists that week, 1,387 in all51%
  6. Stanly CountyBest mid September · 42 checklists that week, 3,221 in all50%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. NonameTransylvania County, best early January · 102 checklists that week, 2,650 in all100%
  2. B. Everett Jordan Lake (Little Creek)Chatham County, best late June · 21 checklists that week, 717 in all100%
  3. City of Raleigh Open Space - Lake WheelerWake County, best the second week of May · 29 checklists that week, 1,826 in all100%
  4. Newcombs LakeDurham County, best late July · 24 checklists that week, 731 in all99%
  5. City of Greensboro Open SpaceGuilford County, best the second week of August · 41 checklists that week, 732 in all98%
  6. River Park NorthPitt County, best late August · 26 checklists that week, 1,036 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In North Carolina, the Great Blue Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (22% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (520) to judge1 am: too few checklists (489) to judge2 am: too few checklists (442) to judge3 am: too few checklists (544) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1621) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9671) to judge6 am: 24% of 50335 checklists7 am: 22% of 150152 checklists8 am: 21% of 182902 checklists9 am: 19% of 158933 checklists10 am: 17% of 128398 checklists11 am: 16% of 98671 checklists12 pm: 16% of 78640 checklists1 pm: 17% of 72510 checklists2 pm: 17% of 69179 checklists3 pm: 17% of 67669 checklists4 pm: 16% of 63964 checklists5 pm: 15% of 48520 checklists6 pm: 15% of 33196 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19700) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (6160) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1943) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1119) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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
January20%20%19%19%
February17%14%12%17%
March17%18%18%18%
April18%18%17%17%
May16%16%15%14%
June13%12%13%14%
July15%15%16%17%
August19%19%21%22%
September22%21%21%21%
October21%22%23%23%
November23%23%24%24%
December25%23%21%22%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Great Blue Herons arrive in North Carolina?
The Great Blue Heron is in North Carolina all year. It turns up on about 24% of checklists at its peak (late November) and on 13% in its quietest week (the second week of June).
When do Great Blue Herons leave North Carolina?
The Great Blue Heron does not leave North Carolina: it is reported all year, from 13% of checklists in the second week of June to 24% in late November.
When is the best time to see a Great Blue Heron in North Carolina?
The Great Blue Heron is reported most often in late November, on about 24% of North Carolina checklists.
Where in North Carolina are Great Blue Herons seen most often?
By county, Montgomery County, Wilson County, and Vance County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Blue Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).