WhenToBird

Ardea herodias · Ardeidae

When Do Great Blue Herons Arrive in Rhode Island?

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

Great Blue Herons are in Rhode Island all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from early July, peak in mid August (28% of checklists), and fall back by late October. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 7.4% of checklists.

When to look

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

Best: mid August. Here all year; numbers build from early July and fall back by late October. Peak: on about 28% of Rhode Island checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 11% of 5678 checklistsJan 8-14: 11% of 4004 checklistsJan 15-21: 8.3% of 3691 checklistsJan 22-31: 9.0% of 4738 checklistsFeb 1-7: 9.1% of 3178 checklistsFeb 8-14: 8.3% of 3262 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.7% of 4286 checklistsFeb 22-28: 8.6% of 3449 checklistsMar 1-7: 9.5% of 3014 checklistsMar 8-14: 7.9% of 3259 checklistsMar 15-21: 10% of 3320 checklistsMar 22-31: 13% of 4692 checklistsApr 1-7: 15% of 3280 checklistsApr 8-14: 13% of 3872 checklistsApr 15-21: 12% of 4037 checklistsApr 22-30: 14% of 5595 checklistsMay 1-7: 14% of 5699 checklistsMay 8-14: 12% of 6089 checklistsMay 15-21: 12% of 4937 checklistsMay 22-31: 14% of 5445 checklistsJun 1-7: 18% of 3031 checklistsJun 8-14: 16% of 2793 checklistsJun 15-21: 17% of 2736 checklistsJun 22-30: 16% of 3318 checklistsJul 1-7: 20% of 2629 checklistsJul 8-14: 22% of 2561 checklistsJul 15-21: 25% of 2580 checklistsJul 22-31: 26% of 3654 checklistsAug 1-7: 26% of 2629 checklistsAug 8-14: 30% of 2912 checklistsAug 15-21: 27% of 2850 checklistsAug 22-31: 28% of 4007 checklistsSep 1-7: 28% of 2893 checklistsSep 8-14: 26% of 2850 checklistsSep 15-21: 26% of 2770 checklistsSep 22-30: 24% of 3888 checklistsOct 1-7: 23% of 3174 checklistsOct 8-14: 23% of 3278 checklistsOct 15-21: 21% of 3008 checklistsOct 22-31: 19% of 3678 checklistsNov 1-7: 17% of 3270 checklistsNov 8-14: 17% of 3405 checklistsNov 15-21: 17% of 2907 checklistsNov 22-30: 15% of 3607 checklistsDec 1-7: 14% of 2415 checklistsDec 8-14: 14% of 2345 checklistsDec 15-21: 11% of 2836 checklistsDec 22-31: 12% of 4826 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bristol CountyBest mid September · 199 checklists that week, 15,899 in all35%
  2. Kent CountyBest mid August · 262 checklists that week, 16,966 in all34%
  3. Washington CountyBest early August · 1079 checklists that week, 65,038 in all31%
  4. Providence CountyBest mid August · 559 checklists that week, 40,898 in all27%
  5. Newport CountyBest mid September · 544 checklists that week, 33,574 in all20%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Succotash Marsh Management AreaWashington County, best early October · 31 checklists that week, 1,965 in all96%
  2. Arnold NeckKent County, best early September · 20 checklists that week, 697 in all91%
  3. Arnold Mills ReservoirProvidence County, best late September · 30 checklists that week, 543 in all89%
  4. Quonochontaug PondWashington County, best early October · 35 checklists that week, 2,308 in all82%
  5. Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge (Card Ponds)Washington County, best early December · 22 checklists that week, 818 in all79%
  6. Apponaug CoveKent County, best the second week of August · 57 checklists that week, 1,054 in all76%

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

Best time of day

In Rhode Island, the Great Blue Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (19% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (42) to judge1 am: too few checklists (58) to judge2 am: too few checklists (45) to judge3 am: too few checklists (69) to judge4 am: too few checklists (319) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3170) to judge6 am: 23% of 10493 checklists7 am: 17% of 17631 checklists8 am: 16% of 18834 checklists9 am: 15% of 17725 checklists10 am: 15% of 16696 checklists11 am: 13% of 14799 checklists12 pm: 13% of 12580 checklists1 pm: 14% of 12779 checklists2 pm: 14% of 12302 checklists3 pm: 15% of 11884 checklists4 pm: 16% of 9762 checklists5 pm: 18% of 6442 checklists6 pm: 20% of 3947 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (2119) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (452) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (105) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (69) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (53) 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
January11%11%8.3%9.0%
February9.1%8.3%5.7%8.6%
March9.5%7.9%10%13%
April15%13%12%14%
May14%12%12%14%
June18%16%17%16%
July20%22%25%26%
August26%30%27%28%
September28%26%26%24%
October23%23%21%19%
November17%17%17%15%
December14%14%11%12%

Neighboring states

  • Massachusetts: arrives the second week of April, 11 weeks earlier than Rhode Island
  • Connecticut: arrives early May, 8 weeks earlier than Rhode Island
  • New Hampshire: arrives the second week of March, 15 weeks earlier than Rhode Island
  • Vermont: arrives mid March, 14 weeks earlier than Rhode Island

Common questions

When do Great Blue Herons arrive in Rhode Island?
Great Blue Herons are in Rhode Island all year, but most are here in fall: numbers build from early July, peak in mid August (28% of checklists), and fall back by late October. In the quietest week (mid February) they are still on about 7.4% of checklists.
When do Great Blue Herons leave Rhode Island?
Great Blue Herons never fully leave Rhode Island: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late October, but some are still reported in every week, about 7.4% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Great Blue Heron in Rhode Island?
The Great Blue Heron is reported most often in mid August, on about 28% of Rhode Island checklists.
Where in Rhode Island are Great Blue Herons seen most often?
By county, Bristol County, Kent County, and Washington County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Blue Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).