WhenToBird

Egretta caerulea · Ardeidae

When Do Little Blue Herons Arrive in Maryland?

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

Little Blue Herons arrive in Maryland in the second week of July, peak in the second week of August (3.1% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 8-14the second week of July
Common byJul 8-14the second week of July
PeakAug 8-14the second week of August
Most gone byOct 1-7early October

Best: the second week of August. First arrivals the second week of July; most are gone by early October. Peak: on about 3.1% of Maryland checklists.

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

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 28716 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 21449 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 21267 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 29144 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 21347 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0% of 22166 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 29986 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 22427 checklistsMar 1-7: 0% of 21389 checklistsMar 8-14: 0% of 22192 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 22823 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 33720 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 25513 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.6% of 27718 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.9% of 29328 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.7% of 42595 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.5% of 38532 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.5% of 42722 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 31936 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.6% of 36903 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.7% of 23191 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.7% of 21853 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.7% of 21000 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.6% of 25133 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.7% of 18715 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.0% of 16376 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.7% of 15793 checklistsJul 22-31: 2.3% of 21969 checklistsAug 1-7: 3.1% of 16013 checklistsAug 8-14: 3.2% of 15249 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.9% of 15674 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.6% of 24925 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.7% of 19808 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.6% of 18513 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.3% of 21901 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.4% of 22901 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.2% of 19111 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.8% of 18482 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.6% of 17380 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 23992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 17915 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 18905 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 16259 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 22852 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 16108 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 16512 checklistsDec 15-21: 0% of 18952 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 29728 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 Maryland 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 Maryland

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Worcester CountyBest mid September · 633 checklists that week, 44,596 in all17%
  2. Somerset CountyBest late July · 196 checklists that week, 9,451 in all13%
  3. Talbot CountyBest the second week of August · 449 checklists that week, 31,140 in all8.4%
  4. Queen Anne's CountyBest the second week of August · 550 checklists that week, 26,875 in all5.6%
  5. Anne Arundel CountyBest mid August · 1308 checklists that week, 93,516 in all5.4%
  6. Baltimore CountyBest early August · 1707 checklists that week, 136,139 in all5.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. North Point State ParkBaltimore County, best early August · 38 checklists that week, 2,437 in all81%
  2. Brandon ShoresAnne Arundel County, best mid April · 36 checklists that week, 1,129 in all79%
  3. Assateague Island National SeashoreWorcester County, best mid September · 60 checklists that week, 1,717 in all69%
  4. Lumber Marsh (Little Egging Island)Worcester County, best the second week of September · 26 checklists that week, 799 in all66%
  5. North Point State Park (south)Baltimore County, best the second week of August · 21 checklists that week, 2,136 in all55%
  6. Assateague Island National Seashore (Little Egging Beach)Worcester County, best late September · 43 checklists that week, 512 in all53%

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

Best time of day

In Maryland, the Little Blue Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (486) to judge1 am: too few checklists (451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (447) to judge3 am: too few checklists (766) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2076) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11098) to judge6 am: 1.1% of 56604 checklists7 am: 0.6% of 139255 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 148626 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 126820 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 106973 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 87483 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 74808 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 69428 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 67800 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 67688 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 60927 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 43876 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 32930 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19051) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5708) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1977) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1170) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (635) 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
January0.1%0%0%0%
February0.1%0%0%0.1%
March0%0%0.1%0.1%
April0.3%0.6%0.9%0.7%
May0.5%0.5%0.5%0.6%
June0.7%0.7%0.7%0.6%
July0.7%1.0%1.7%2.3%
August3.1%3.2%2.9%2.6%
September1.7%1.6%1.3%1.4%
October1.2%0.8%0.6%0.2%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives early April, 13 weeks earlier than Maryland
  • Virginia: arrives early July, 1 week earlier than Maryland
  • Pennsylvania: arrives mid July, 1 week later than Maryland
  • New Jersey: arrives the second week of April, 12 weeks earlier than Maryland

Common questions

When do Little Blue Herons arrive in Maryland?
Little Blue Herons arrive in Maryland in the second week of July, peak in the second week of August (3.1% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.
When do Little Blue Herons leave Maryland?
Most Little Blue Herons have left Maryland by early October, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Little Blue Heron in Maryland?
The Little Blue Heron is reported most often in the second week of August, on about 3.1% of Maryland checklists.
Where in Maryland are Little Blue Herons seen most often?
By county, Worcester County, Somerset County, and Talbot County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Little Blue Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).