WhenToBird

Butorides virescens · Ardeidae

When Do Green Herons Arrive in Nevada?

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

Green Herons reach Nevada in late March, are common by the second week of April, peak in early August (5.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid January.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 22-31late March
Common byApr 8-14the second week of April
PeakAug 1-7early August
Most gone byJan 15-21mid January

Best: early August. First arrivals late March; most are gone by mid January. Peak: on about 5.5% of Nevada checklists.

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

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

0%2%4%6%8%Jan 1-7: 2.5% of 5121 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.8% of 3908 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.2% of 4000 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.5% of 4991 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.7% of 3377 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.2% of 3747 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.5% of 4852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.8% of 3712 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.9% of 3745 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.9% of 3763 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.1% of 4188 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.4% of 6027 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.6% of 4679 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.4% of 4609 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.9% of 4709 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.5% of 6984 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.0% of 5702 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.7% of 5928 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.8% of 5353 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.7% of 7352 checklistsJun 1-7: 3.0% of 4360 checklistsJun 8-14: 2.9% of 4183 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.5% of 3751 checklistsJun 22-30: 3.6% of 4126 checklistsJul 1-7: 3.8% of 3231 checklistsJul 8-14: 4.4% of 3024 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.7% of 2967 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.6% of 4212 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.9% of 2828 checklistsAug 8-14: 6.1% of 3036 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.6% of 3076 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.9% of 4345 checklistsSep 1-7: 4.9% of 3369 checklistsSep 8-14: 4.7% of 3728 checklistsSep 15-21: 4.8% of 3535 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.3% of 5028 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.8% of 3976 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.3% of 3781 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.9% of 3577 checklistsOct 22-31: 4.0% of 4986 checklistsNov 1-7: 3.5% of 3592 checklistsNov 8-14: 3.6% of 3685 checklistsNov 15-21: 3.4% of 3399 checklistsNov 22-30: 3.1% of 4544 checklistsDec 1-7: 3.1% of 3162 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.1% of 3191 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.8% of 3615 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.9% of 5101 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 Nevada 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 Nevada

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clark CountyBest early August · 910 checklists that week, 80,458 in all17%
  2. Nye CountyBest the second week of May · 393 checklists that week, 17,872 in all1.7%
  3. Lincoln CountyBest mid May · 121 checklists that week, 3,842 in all0.7%
  4. Washoe CountyBest mid September · 810 checklists that week, 53,497 in all0.7%
  5. Elko CountyBest mid September · 175 checklists that week, 8,844 in all0.5%
  6. Carson CityBest late May · 217 checklists that week, 6,992 in all0.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Robert B. Griffith Water ProjectClark County, best early August · 26 checklists that week, 2,177 in all67%
  2. Bird Viewing PreserveClark County, best mid August · 148 checklists that week, 9,268 in all63%
  3. Silver Springs PoolClark County, best early May · 24 checklists that week, 275 in all33%
  4. Cornerstone ParkClark County, best mid June · 20 checklists that week, 1,000 in all29%
  5. Cottonwood LakeClark County, best mid May · 114 checklists that week, 4,195 in all26%

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

Best time of day

In Nevada, the Green Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (8.4% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (114) to judge1 am: too few checklists (99) to judge2 am: too few checklists (71) to judge3 am: too few checklists (108) to judge4 am: too few checklists (459) to judge5 am: 9.2% of 4313 checklists6 am: 8.3% of 17070 checklists7 am: 7.0% of 27389 checklists8 am: 3.2% of 24858 checklists9 am: 2.4% of 22012 checklists10 am: 1.7% of 19284 checklists11 am: 1.4% of 15592 checklists12 pm: 1.0% of 12432 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 11386 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 11262 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 10721 checklists4 pm: 0.8% of 9090 checklists5 pm: 1.0% of 6397 checklists6 pm: 1.0% of 5012 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (3026) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (905) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (271) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (164) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (120) 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
January2.5%2.8%2.2%1.5%
February1.7%1.2%1.5%1.8%
March0.9%0.9%1.1%1.4%
April1.6%2.4%2.9%3.5%
May3.0%2.7%2.8%2.7%
June3.0%2.9%2.5%3.6%
July3.8%4.4%4.7%5.6%
August4.9%6.1%4.6%4.9%
September4.9%4.7%4.8%4.3%
October3.8%3.3%3.9%4.0%
November3.5%3.6%3.4%3.1%
December3.1%3.1%2.8%2.9%

Neighboring states

  • California: arrives early March, 3 weeks earlier than Nevada
  • Arizona: year-round, peaks late September
  • Oregon: arrives late April, 4 weeks later than Nevada
  • New Mexico: arrives mid April, 3 weeks later than Nevada

Common questions

When do Green Herons arrive in Nevada?
Green Herons reach Nevada in late March, are common by the second week of April, peak in early August (5.5% of checklists), and most are gone by mid January.
When do Green Herons leave Nevada?
Most Green Herons have left Nevada by mid January, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early March.
When is the best time to see a Green Heron in Nevada?
The Green Heron is reported most often in early August, on about 5.5% of Nevada checklists.
Where in Nevada are Green Herons seen most often?
By county, Clark County, Nye County, and Lincoln County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Green Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).