WhenToBird

Ardea herodias · Ardeidae

When Do Great Blue Herons Arrive in Oklahoma?

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

The Great Blue Heron is in Oklahoma all year. It turns up on about 30% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 13% in its quietest week (mid February).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 22-30late September
Quietest weekFeb 15-21mid February

Best: late September. Here all year. Peak: on about 30% of Oklahoma checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  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: 21% of 6087 checklistsJan 8-14: 22% of 4350 checklistsJan 15-21: 20% of 4381 checklistsJan 22-31: 20% of 6165 checklistsFeb 1-7: 18% of 4259 checklistsFeb 8-14: 14% of 4589 checklistsFeb 15-21: 12% of 7001 checklistsFeb 22-28: 15% of 4482 checklistsMar 1-7: 15% of 4724 checklistsMar 8-14: 16% of 4571 checklistsMar 15-21: 16% of 4393 checklistsMar 22-31: 19% of 7544 checklistsApr 1-7: 19% of 5967 checklistsApr 8-14: 20% of 6543 checklistsApr 15-21: 21% of 7366 checklistsApr 22-30: 20% of 10618 checklistsMay 1-7: 19% of 8835 checklistsMay 8-14: 20% of 8247 checklistsMay 15-21: 22% of 6081 checklistsMay 22-31: 19% of 7283 checklistsJun 1-7: 18% of 4256 checklistsJun 8-14: 19% of 3774 checklistsJun 15-21: 19% of 3541 checklistsJun 22-30: 21% of 4159 checklistsJul 1-7: 23% of 3209 checklistsJul 8-14: 20% of 2916 checklistsJul 15-21: 22% of 2861 checklistsJul 22-31: 24% of 4146 checklistsAug 1-7: 26% of 3043 checklistsAug 8-14: 26% of 2839 checklistsAug 15-21: 27% of 3014 checklistsAug 22-31: 29% of 4759 checklistsSep 1-7: 28% of 3861 checklistsSep 8-14: 29% of 3748 checklistsSep 15-21: 30% of 3569 checklistsSep 22-30: 30% of 4830 checklistsOct 1-7: 30% of 3809 checklistsOct 8-14: 29% of 4142 checklistsOct 15-21: 30% of 3705 checklistsOct 22-31: 27% of 4738 checklistsNov 1-7: 28% of 3823 checklistsNov 8-14: 27% of 3849 checklistsNov 15-21: 24% of 3722 checklistsNov 22-30: 25% of 4795 checklistsDec 1-7: 23% of 3324 checklistsDec 8-14: 23% of 3574 checklistsDec 15-21: 24% of 3884 checklistsDec 22-31: 19% of 5774 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. McIntosh CountyBest late September · 12 checklists that week, 511 in all65%
  2. Mayes CountyBest the second week of October · 14 checklists that week, 459 in all64%
  3. Alfalfa CountyBest mid August · 51 checklists that week, 3,843 in all60%
  4. Washington CountyBest mid August · 13 checklists that week, 2,263 in all57%
  5. Jefferson CountyBest the second week of November · 19 checklists that week, 620 in all57%
  6. Pawnee CountyBest early August · 12 checklists that week, 948 in all53%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Edmond ParkOklahoma County, best late September · 34 checklists that week, 792 in all99%
  2. Lake YaholaTulsa County, best late September · 28 checklists that week, 1,291 in all95%
  3. Lake Hefner (Lansbrook Lake)Oklahoma County, best late September · 31 checklists that week, 743 in all94%
  4. Lake HefnerOklahoma County, best the second week of October · 67 checklists that week, 2,749 in all94%
  5. Upper Bayou Site 10 ReservoirCarter County, best early September · 30 checklists that week, 1,672 in all94%
  6. Boomer Lake ParkPayne County, best mid September · 59 checklists that week, 3,723 in all93%

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

Best time of day

In Oklahoma, the Great Blue Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (27% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (91) to judge1 am: too few checklists (65) to judge2 am: too few checklists (73) to judge3 am: too few checklists (73) to judge4 am: too few checklists (100) to judge5 am: too few checklists (647) to judge6 am: 29% of 8353 checklists7 am: 27% of 24509 checklists8 am: 24% of 27848 checklists9 am: 22% of 25316 checklists10 am: 20% of 21161 checklists11 am: 21% of 18730 checklists12 pm: 19% of 16097 checklists1 pm: 21% of 14028 checklists2 pm: 21% of 13599 checklists3 pm: 21% of 14228 checklists4 pm: 20% of 14597 checklists5 pm: 19% of 12125 checklists6 pm: 18% of 9337 checklists7 pm: 18% of 6944 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2403) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (459) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (226) 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
January21%22%20%20%
February18%14%12%15%
March15%16%16%19%
April19%20%21%20%
May19%20%22%19%
June18%19%19%21%
July23%20%22%24%
August26%26%27%29%
September28%29%30%30%
October30%29%30%27%
November28%27%24%25%
December23%23%24%19%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: year-round, peaks mid August
  • Arkansas: year-round, peaks late August
  • Missouri: year-round, peaks mid August
  • Nebraska: summer visitor, peaks mid August

Common questions

When do Great Blue Herons arrive in Oklahoma?
The Great Blue Heron is in Oklahoma all year. It turns up on about 30% of checklists at its peak (late September) and on 13% in its quietest week (mid February).
When do Great Blue Herons leave Oklahoma?
The Great Blue Heron does not leave Oklahoma: it is reported all year, from 13% of checklists in mid February to 30% in late September.
When is the best time to see a Great Blue Heron in Oklahoma?
The Great Blue Heron is reported most often in late September, on about 30% of Oklahoma checklists.
Where in Oklahoma are Great Blue Herons seen most often?
By county, McIntosh County, Mayes County, and Alfalfa County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Blue Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).