WhenToBird

Ardea alba · Ardeidae

When Do Great Egrets Arrive in New York?

Adult Great Egret
Photo: Marcelo Maux, CC BY-SA 4.0 via iNaturalist

Great Egrets reach New York in mid March, are common by early April, peak in the second week of August (15% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakAug 8-14the second week of August
Most gone byOct 15-21mid October

Best: the second week of August. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by mid October. Peak: on about 15% of New York checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0.4% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.3% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.2% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.2% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.7% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 3.0% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 5.4% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.1% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.7% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.0% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 7.4% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 7.5% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.0% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 8.7% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.8% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 8.4% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 8.3% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.4% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 8.6% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 11% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 14% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 15% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 15% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 14% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 14% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 12% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 10% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.4% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 9.6% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 9.0% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 7.6% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 5.6% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 4.2% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.9% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.8% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.4% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.6% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% 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 mid August · 812 checklists that week, 47,387 in all57%
  2. Genesee CountyBest late August · 445 checklists that week, 17,726 in all50%
  3. Queens CountyBest the second week of August · 1254 checklists that week, 76,201 in all47%
  4. Richmond CountyBest early July · 1047 checklists that week, 55,926 in all45%
  5. Nassau CountyBest late July · 1726 checklists that week, 95,019 in all41%
  6. Bronx CountyBest early August · 322 checklists that week, 24,489 in all40%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Captree State ParkSuffolk County, best late September · 31 checklists that week, 1,784 in all100%
  2. Parsonage CoveNassau County, best early July · 129 checklists that week, 5,941 in all99%
  3. Sammys Town BeachSuffolk County, best the second week of October · 28 checklists that week, 1,089 in all99%
  4. Flax Pond State Tidal WetlandSuffolk County, best the second week of October · 34 checklists that week, 499 in all98%
  5. Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (east)Genesee County, best mid June · 30 checklists that week, 1,599 in all97%
  6. Great Kills ParkRichmond County, best late June · 27 checklists that week, 994 in all96%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Great Egret is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (7.3% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 7.2% of 124869 checklists7 am: 5.3% of 298506 checklists8 am: 5.3% of 337334 checklists9 am: 6.4% of 307787 checklists10 am: 6.1% of 270801 checklists11 am: 6.1% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 5.5% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 5.6% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 5.4% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 5.3% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 6.7% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 7.1% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 7.6% 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
January0.4%0.3%0.2%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.2%0.7%3.0%
April5.4%7.1%7.7%8.0%
May7.4%7.5%8.0%8.7%
June8.8%8.4%8.3%8.4%
July8.6%11%12%14%
August15%15%14%14%
September12%10%9.4%9.6%
October9.0%7.6%5.6%4.2%
November2.9%1.8%1.4%0.9%
December0.6%0.5%0.4%0.4%

Neighboring states

  • Connecticut: arrives mid March, in the same week than New York
  • New Jersey: arrives the second week of March, 1 week earlier than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives late March, 1 week later than New York
  • Vermont: arrives the second week of April, 3 weeks later than New York

Common questions

When do Great Egrets arrive in New York?
Great Egrets reach New York in mid March, are common by early April, peak in the second week of August (15% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.
When do Great Egrets leave New York?
Most Great Egrets have left New York by mid October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until late November.
When is the best time to see a Great Egret in New York?
The Great Egret is reported most often in the second week of August, on about 15% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Great Egrets seen most often?
By county, Seneca County, Genesee County, and Queens County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Egret (counties with at least 200 checklists).