WhenToBird

Butorides virescens · Ardeidae

When Do Green Herons Arrive in Georgia?

Adult male Green Heron
Photo: Jonathan Eisen, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Green Herons reach Georgia in mid March, are common by the second week of April, peak in mid July (9.7% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byApr 8-14the second week of April
PeakJul 15-21mid July
Most gone bySep 8-14the second week of September

Best: mid July. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by the second week of September. Peak: on about 9.7% of Georgia checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%Jan 1-7: 0.2% of 22238 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 16390 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.3% of 16779 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.2% of 22964 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% of 16870 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.2% of 19486 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 28540 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 17005 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.3% of 15920 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.5% of 16274 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.7% of 16432 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.8% of 25318 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.8% of 19292 checklistsApr 8-14: 5.0% of 19742 checklistsApr 15-21: 6.0% of 21498 checklistsApr 22-30: 7.0% of 29736 checklistsMay 1-7: 7.1% of 20858 checklistsMay 8-14: 6.9% of 20346 checklistsMay 15-21: 7.0% of 15859 checklistsMay 22-31: 7.3% of 19867 checklistsJun 1-7: 7.5% of 13467 checklistsJun 8-14: 6.7% of 12812 checklistsJun 15-21: 8.0% of 11379 checklistsJun 22-30: 8.6% of 14121 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.1% of 11176 checklistsJul 8-14: 9.8% of 10695 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.4% of 10655 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.9% of 15106 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.2% of 10650 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.8% of 10247 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.5% of 10371 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.8% of 15203 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.6% of 13007 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.1% of 12541 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.7% of 12943 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.6% of 17655 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.6% of 14646 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.8% of 15836 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.7% of 13124 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 15859 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 11711 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.3% of 11587 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.2% of 12025 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 16431 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.2% of 11256 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.2% of 11967 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.2% of 15618 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.2% of 22453 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 Georgia 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 Georgia

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Jeff Davis CountyBest the second week of August · 13 checklists that week, 627 in all44%
  2. McIntosh CountyBest late June · 121 checklists that week, 10,475 in all44%
  3. Pulaski CountyBest late April · 10 checklists that week, 248 in all42%
  4. Stewart CountyBest the second week of June · 16 checklists that week, 1,016 in all40%
  5. Crisp CountyBest the second week of May · 11 checklists that week, 524 in all35%
  6. Bartow CountyBest the second week of July · 150 checklists that week, 11,762 in all35%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Arrowhead Wildlife Management AreaFloyd County, best early May · 20 checklists that week, 363 in all88%
  2. Lake Peachtree LagoonFayette County, best early August · 23 checklists that week, 437 in all82%
  3. Watershed Y17 LakeGwinnett County, best late July · 28 checklists that week, 1,631 in all81%
  4. Little Mulberry ParkGwinnett County, best early July · 29 checklists that week, 592 in all78%
  5. Cauley CreekFulton County, best the second week of August · 22 checklists that week, 1,380 in all77%

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

Best time of day

In Georgia, the Green Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (5.9% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (334) to judge1 am: too few checklists (277) to judge2 am: too few checklists (264) to judge3 am: too few checklists (282) to judge4 am: too few checklists (463) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1513) to judge6 am: 7.5% of 16790 checklists7 am: 5.5% of 73569 checklists8 am: 4.4% of 104956 checklists9 am: 3.5% of 96241 checklists10 am: 3.1% of 81903 checklists11 am: 2.7% of 66236 checklists12 pm: 2.4% of 56159 checklists1 pm: 2.3% of 48260 checklists2 pm: 2.5% of 46435 checklists3 pm: 2.2% of 46015 checklists4 pm: 2.1% of 47438 checklists5 pm: 3.2% of 38866 checklists6 pm: 5.0% of 26032 checklists7 pm: 6.6% of 16610 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (5490) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (995) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (517) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (310) 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
January0.2%0.2%0.3%0.2%
February0.2%0.2%0.2%0.3%
March0.3%0.5%0.7%1.8%
April3.8%5.0%6.0%7.0%
May7.1%6.9%7.0%7.3%
June7.5%6.7%8.0%8.6%
July9.1%9.8%9.4%9.9%
August9.2%8.8%8.5%7.8%
September6.6%4.1%3.7%2.6%
October1.6%0.8%0.7%0.2%
November0.2%0.3%0.2%0.2%
December0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives mid March, in the same week than Georgia
  • Alabama: arrives mid March, in the same week than Georgia
  • Tennessee: arrives early April, 2 weeks later than Georgia
  • North Carolina: arrives early April, 2 weeks later than Georgia

Common questions

When do Green Herons arrive in Georgia?
Green Herons reach Georgia in mid March, are common by the second week of April, peak in mid July (9.7% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of September.
When do Green Herons leave Georgia?
Most Green Herons have left Georgia by the second week of September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of October.
When is the best time to see a Green Heron in Georgia?
The Green Heron is reported most often in mid July, on about 9.7% of Georgia checklists.
Where in Georgia are Green Herons seen most often?
By county, Jeff Davis County, McIntosh County, and Pulaski County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Green Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).