WhenToBird

Ardea alba · Ardeidae

When Do Great Egrets Arrive in Utah?

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

Great Egrets are winter birds in Utah: the first arrive in late July, they are common by the second week of August, peak in the second week of January (2.3% of checklists), and most are gone by mid June.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 22-31late July
Common byAug 8-14the second week of August
PeakJan 8-14the second week of January
Most gone byJun 15-21mid June

Best: the second week of January. First arrivals late July; most are gone by mid June. Peak: on about 2.3% of Utah checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 2.0% of 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.2% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.9% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.7% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.4% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.1% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.2% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.2% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.1% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.2% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.7% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.8% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.1% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.1% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.3% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.2% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.9% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.4% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.4% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.2% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.3% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.2% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.8% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.8% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.5% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.6% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.7% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.8% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.0% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.1% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.4% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.5% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.4% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.7% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.5% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.3% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.0% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.3% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.9% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.9% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.9% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.3% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.3% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.3% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.4% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.5% of 9982 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 Utah 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 Utah

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Davis CountyBest the second week of May · 1482 checklists that week, 39,952 in all11%
  2. Box Elder CountyBest the second week of September · 179 checklists that week, 9,867 in all10%
  3. Washington CountyBest the second week of December · 500 checklists that week, 43,893 in all6.7%
  4. Utah CountyBest the second week of January · 1964 checklists that week, 70,971 in all6.5%
  5. Sevier CountyBest the second week of May · 116 checklists that week, 5,167 in all6.1%
  6. Piute CountyBest mid September · 20 checklists that week, 1,035 in all5.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Utah State Department of Wildlife Resources 165Davis County, best mid May · 196 checklists that week, 4,840 in all63%
  2. Sullivan Virgin River Soccer ParkWashington County, best mid February · 26 checklists that week, 411 in all62%
  3. Ivins ReservoirWashington County, best the second week of December · 26 checklists that week, 1,043 in all50%
  4. Jordan Willows ParkUtah County, best early March · 48 checklists that week, 2,225 in all44%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Great Egret is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (242) to judge1 am: too few checklists (178) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (162) to judge4 am: too few checklists (284) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1984) to judge6 am: 1.8% of 11714 checklists7 am: 1.4% of 33209 checklists8 am: 1.4% of 46944 checklists9 am: 1.5% of 46290 checklists10 am: 1.5% of 43144 checklists11 am: 1.4% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 1.5% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 1.4% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 1.6% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 1.5% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 1.3% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 1.3% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 0.9% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 0.8% of 13099 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (6647) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1753) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (599) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (307) 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
January2.0%2.2%2.9%1.7%
February1.4%1.0%1.1%1.2%
March1.2%1.1%1.2%0.7%
April0.8%1.1%2.1%2.3%
May2.2%1.9%2.4%1.4%
June1.2%1.3%1.2%0.8%
July0.8%0.5%0.6%0.7%
August0.8%1.0%1.1%1.4%
September1.5%1.4%1.7%1.5%
October1.3%1.0%1.3%0.9%
November0.9%0.9%1.1%1.3%
December1.3%1.3%1.4%1.5%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: arrives the second week of August, 2 weeks later than Utah
  • Colorado: arrives the second week of April, 14 weeks earlier than Utah
  • Idaho: arrives late March, 16 weeks earlier than Utah
  • New Mexico: arrives mid December, 19 weeks later than Utah

Common questions

When do Great Egrets arrive in Utah?
Great Egrets are winter birds in Utah: the first arrive in late July, they are common by the second week of August, peak in the second week of January (2.3% of checklists), and most are gone by mid June.
When do Great Egrets leave Utah?
Most Great Egrets have left Utah by mid June, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early July.
When is the best time to see a Great Egret in Utah?
The Great Egret is reported most often in the second week of January, on about 2.3% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Great Egrets seen most often?
By county, Davis County, Box Elder County, and Washington County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Egret (counties with at least 200 checklists).