WhenToBird

Egretta caerulea · Ardeidae

When Do Little Blue Herons Arrive in Florida?

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

The Little Blue Heron is in Florida all year. It turns up on about 29% of checklists at its peak (early December) and on 17% in its quietest week (late April).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekDec 1-7early December
Quietest weekApr 22-30late April

Best: early December. Here all year. Peak: on about 29% of Florida checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 27% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 28% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 28% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 27% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 26% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 25% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 23% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 25% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 25% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 25% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 24% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 22% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 20% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 19% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 17% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 17% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 17% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 18% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 19% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 20% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 22% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 21% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 21% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 21% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 20% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 21% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 21% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 22% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 23% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 23% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 23% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 22% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 22% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 21% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 21% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 21% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 21% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 20% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 22% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 24% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 26% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 27% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 28% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 29% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 29% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 28% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 27% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 27% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Madison CountyBest the second week of November · 25 checklists that week, 1,783 in all53%
  2. Glades CountyBest mid December · 64 checklists that week, 6,182 in all49%
  3. Sumter CountyBest early December · 354 checklists that week, 18,218 in all46%
  4. Collier CountyBest mid January · 2899 checklists that week, 84,200 in all45%
  5. Pasco CountyBest late August · 565 checklists that week, 33,431 in all44%
  6. Hendry CountyBest the second week of December · 72 checklists that week, 3,103 in all44%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (west)Lee County, best the second week of November · 22 checklists that week, 913 in all98%
  2. Mease ParkPinellas County, best mid November · 60 checklists that week, 2,801 in all98%
  3. Peaceful WatersPalm Beach County, best early November · 63 checklists that week, 4,405 in all98%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Little Blue Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (28% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 26% of 94591 checklists7 am: 28% of 296183 checklists8 am: 27% of 319987 checklists9 am: 25% of 254830 checklists10 am: 24% of 209480 checklists11 am: 23% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 22% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 22% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 21% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 21% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 21% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 18% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 17% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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
January27%28%28%27%
February26%25%23%25%
March25%25%24%22%
April20%19%17%17%
May17%18%19%20%
June22%21%21%21%
July20%21%21%22%
August23%23%23%22%
September22%21%21%21%
October21%20%22%24%
November26%27%28%29%
December29%28%27%27%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: summer visitor, peaks early August
  • South Carolina: all year, most in summer, peaks the second week of August
  • Alabama: summer visitor, peaks the second week of August
  • Mississippi: summer visitor, peaks late July

Common questions

When do Little Blue Herons arrive in Florida?
The Little Blue Heron is in Florida all year. It turns up on about 29% of checklists at its peak (early December) and on 17% in its quietest week (late April).
When do Little Blue Herons leave Florida?
The Little Blue Heron does not leave Florida: it is reported all year, from 17% of checklists in late April to 29% in early December.
When is the best time to see a Little Blue Heron in Florida?
The Little Blue Heron is reported most often in early December, on about 29% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Little Blue Herons seen most often?
By county, Madison County, Glades County, and Sumter County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Little Blue Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).