WhenToBird

Egretta tricolor · Ardeidae

When Do Tricolored Herons Arrive in New Jersey?

Adult Tricolored Heron
Photo: Ricard Busquets Reverte, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Tricolored Herons arrive in New Jersey in the second week of April, peak in the second week of August (2.0% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 8-14the second week of April
Common byApr 8-14the second week of April
PeakAug 8-14the second week of August
Most gone byOct 15-21mid October

Best: the second week of August. First arrivals the second week of April; most are gone by mid October. Peak: on about 2.0% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.3% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.5% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.0% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.2% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.3% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.2% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.5% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.7% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.3% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.1% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.3% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.2% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.3% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.2% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.6% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.6% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.8% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.8% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.8% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.3% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.8% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.2% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.6% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.0% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.9% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.0% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.5% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.8% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.2% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 26651 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ocean CountyBest the second week of August · 1176 checklists that week, 87,340 in all8.0%
  2. Cape May CountyBest mid July · 1905 checklists that week, 189,832 in all6.8%
  3. Atlantic CountyBest mid August · 448 checklists that week, 28,208 in all4.2%
  4. Bergen CountyBest mid July · 903 checklists that week, 73,457 in all1.2%
  5. Cumberland CountyBest mid August · 131 checklists that week, 13,927 in all0.9%
  6. Hudson CountyBest late July · 478 checklists that week, 21,191 in all0.8%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Island Beach State Park (Sedge Islands)Ocean County, best the second week of August · 20 checklists that week, 211 in all68%
  2. The Wetlands Institute PreserveCape May County, best mid September · 194 checklists that week, 3,679 in all68%
  3. Island Beach State Park (Johnny Allens Cove)Ocean County, best late September · 31 checklists that week, 895 in all66%
  4. Ocean City Estuary or MarshCape May County, best early August · 74 checklists that week, 3,666 in all62%
  5. Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management AreaOcean County, best late August · 27 checklists that week, 1,138 in all59%
  6. Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management AreaCape May County, best early September · 26 checklists that week, 3,186 in all58%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Tricolored Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (1.0% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (746) to judge1 am: too few checklists (640) to judge2 am: too few checklists (606) to judge3 am: too few checklists (755) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1681) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11258) to judge6 am: 1.0% of 50447 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 118312 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 123273 checklists9 am: 0.9% of 107783 checklists10 am: 1.0% of 97537 checklists11 am: 0.9% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 0.9% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 1.0% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 1.0% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 0.9% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 1.0% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 1.1% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 1.0% of 28122 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14727) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4257) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1273) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (920) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (693) 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%0.2%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.3%
April0.5%1.0%1.2%1.3%
May1.2%1.5%1.7%1.3%
June1.1%1.3%1.2%1.3%
July1.2%1.6%1.6%1.8%
August1.8%1.8%2.3%1.8%
September1.2%1.6%2.0%1.9%
October2.0%1.5%0.8%0.5%
November0.2%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives early July, 11 weeks later than New Jersey
  • Maryland: arrives late May, 6 weeks later than New Jersey
  • Virginia: arrives the second week of April, in the same week than New Jersey
  • North Carolina: arrives mid March, 3 weeks earlier than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Tricolored Herons arrive in New Jersey?
Tricolored Herons arrive in New Jersey in the second week of April, peak in the second week of August (2.0% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.
When do Tricolored Herons leave New Jersey?
Most Tricolored Herons have left New Jersey by mid October, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Tricolored Heron in New Jersey?
The Tricolored Heron is reported most often in the second week of August, on about 2.0% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Tricolored Herons seen most often?
By county, Ocean County, Cape May County, and Atlantic County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Tricolored Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).