WhenToBird

Egretta caerulea · Ardeidae

When Do Little Blue Herons Arrive in Connecticut?

Adult Little Blue Heron
Photo: Luis G Restrepo, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Little Blue Herons arrive in Connecticut in mid April, peak in mid August (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 15-21mid April
Common byApr 15-21mid April
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone byOct 1-7early October

Best: mid August. First arrivals mid April; most are gone by early October. Peak: on about 2.4% of Connecticut checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0% of 18950 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 13676 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 13377 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 17004 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 10218 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 11568 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 15916 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 11413 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 10754 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 12051 checklistsMar 15-21: 0% of 12616 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.4% of 17801 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 13186 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 14428 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 14738 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.6% of 21753 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.8% of 22494 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.8% of 23363 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 20219 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.0% of 20778 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.0% of 12234 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.1% of 12491 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.1% of 10856 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.2% of 11964 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.1% of 9437 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.9% of 8599 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.9% of 8252 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.1% of 11329 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.8% of 8116 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.3% of 8051 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.4% of 8502 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.4% of 13673 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.9% of 9873 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.3% of 9735 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.2% of 10120 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.9% of 12543 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 10735 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.5% of 10869 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 10436 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 13808 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 10507 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 9827 checklistsNov 15-21: 0% of 9904 checklistsNov 22-30: 0% of 13396 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 8974 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 9468 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 11614 checklistsDec 22-31: 0% of 16616 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 Connecticut 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Connecticut

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Middlesex CountyBest mid August · 516 checklists that week, 39,919 in all6.4%
  2. New Haven CountyBest mid July · 1766 checklists that week, 139,721 in all4.7%
  3. Fairfield CountyBest late August · 3026 checklists that week, 139,848 in all3.3%
  4. New London CountyBest mid August · 955 checklists that week, 65,205 in all2.9%
  5. Windham CountyBest mid July · 322 checklists that week, 19,034 in all1.5%
  6. Hartford CountyBest the second week of August · 1289 checklists that week, 105,735 in all1.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Plum Bank BeachMiddlesex County, best late August · 33 checklists that week, 169 in all78%
  2. Mill Woods ParkHartford County, best late July · 27 checklists that week, 465 in all73%
  3. Hammonasset Natural Area Preserve (Hammonasset Point)New Haven County, best early July · 25 checklists that week, 1,736 in all40%
  4. Palmer Cove (Groton Long Point)New London County, best early September · 20 checklists that week, 283 in all40%
  5. Stewart B. Mckinney National Wildlife RefugeFairfield County, best late August · 94 checklists that week, 3,086 in all39%
  6. Hammonasset Natural Area PreserveNew Haven County, best the second week of July · 134 checklists that week, 10,098 in all37%

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

Best time of day

In Connecticut, the Little Blue Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (0.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (325) to judge1 am: too few checklists (367) to judge2 am: too few checklists (488) to judge3 am: too few checklists (792) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2722) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9489) to judge6 am: 0.7% of 33657 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 62964 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 70645 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 64870 checklists10 am: 0.8% of 58827 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 51689 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 45288 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 44765 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 44173 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 41979 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 33219 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 24828 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 15856 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (8126) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (1994) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (533) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (349) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (286) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0%0%0%
March0%0%0%0.4%
April0.3%0.7%0.5%0.6%
May0.8%0.8%0.8%1.0%
June1.0%1.1%1.1%1.2%
July1.1%1.9%1.9%2.1%
August1.8%2.3%2.4%2.4%
September1.9%1.3%1.2%0.9%
October0.8%0.5%0.2%0.2%
November0.2%0.1%0%0%
December0%0%0%0%

Neighboring states

  • Rhode Island: arrives early June, 6 weeks later than Connecticut
  • Massachusetts: arrives mid June, 8 weeks later than Connecticut
  • New Jersey: arrives the second week of April, 1 week earlier than Connecticut
  • New York: arrives mid May, 4 weeks later than Connecticut

Common questions

When do Little Blue Herons arrive in Connecticut?
Little Blue Herons arrive in Connecticut in mid April, peak in mid August (2.4% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.
When do Little Blue Herons leave Connecticut?
Most Little Blue Herons have left Connecticut by early October, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Little Blue Heron in Connecticut?
The Little Blue Heron is reported most often in mid August, on about 2.4% of Connecticut checklists.
Where in Connecticut are Little Blue Herons seen most often?
By county, Middlesex County, New Haven County, and Fairfield County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Little Blue Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).