WhenToBird

Egretta tricolor · Ardeidae

When Do Tricolored Herons Arrive in North Carolina?

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

Tricolored Herons arrive in North Carolina in mid March, peak in mid August (4.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of February.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone byFeb 8-14the second week of February

Best: mid August. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by the second week of February. Peak: on about 4.4% of North Carolina checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Apruncommon
  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%Jan 1-7: 1.9% of 30085 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.7% of 22728 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.1% of 24292 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.5% of 34122 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.5% of 26352 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 29663 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 41515 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.0% of 24318 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.1% of 23408 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.1% of 22658 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.8% of 22784 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.1% of 36034 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.1% of 28131 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.0% of 29190 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.3% of 32847 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.1% of 47966 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.0% of 37076 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.1% of 36228 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.5% of 30378 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.8% of 40237 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.0% of 27551 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.8% of 26473 checklistsJun 15-21: 2.2% of 22789 checklistsJun 22-30: 2.2% of 27615 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.9% of 20022 checklistsJul 8-14: 2.7% of 19315 checklistsJul 15-21: 3.0% of 18934 checklistsJul 22-31: 3.7% of 25600 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.0% of 17987 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.5% of 17307 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.5% of 17080 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.2% of 25844 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.2% of 20818 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.6% of 20070 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.5% of 21984 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.2% of 26979 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.3% of 22605 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.2% of 22677 checklistsOct 15-21: 3.6% of 21407 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.7% of 25927 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.8% of 18830 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.9% of 18418 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.9% of 19101 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.0% of 25709 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.6% of 18856 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.5% of 18745 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.2% of 22478 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.2% of 34796 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Dare CountyBest late August · 2135 checklists that week, 83,121 in all23%
  2. New Hanover CountyBest late August · 629 checklists that week, 33,362 in all22%
  3. Hyde CountyBest mid August · 68 checklists that week, 8,350 in all20%
  4. Brunswick CountyBest early August · 614 checklists that week, 29,668 in all19%
  5. Carteret CountyBest late July · 784 checklists that week, 27,746 in all18%
  6. Wayne CountyBest early September · 21 checklists that week, 3,465 in all17%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Pea Island (The Trench)Dare County, best mid August · 47 checklists that week, 2,298 in all82%
  2. Eagle Nest BayDare County, best late August · 109 checklists that week, 2,636 in all80%
  3. Fort Fisher State Recreation AreaNew Hanover County, best mid September · 20 checklists that week, 1,143 in all77%
  4. Pea IslandDare County, best the second week of September · 60 checklists that week, 4,121 in all76%
  5. Pea Island (2)Dare County, best mid August · 22 checklists that week, 978 in all73%
  6. North Carolina Coastal Federation PreserveCarteret County, best early March · 21 checklists that week, 317 in all67%

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

Best time of day

In North Carolina, the Tricolored Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (2.7% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%12 am: too few checklists (520) to judge1 am: too few checklists (489) to judge2 am: too few checklists (442) to judge3 am: too few checklists (544) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1621) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9671) to judge6 am: 3.7% of 50335 checklists7 am: 2.4% of 150152 checklists8 am: 2.0% of 182902 checklists9 am: 1.8% of 158933 checklists10 am: 1.8% of 128398 checklists11 am: 1.8% of 98671 checklists12 pm: 1.7% of 78640 checklists1 pm: 1.8% of 72510 checklists2 pm: 1.7% of 69179 checklists3 pm: 1.5% of 67669 checklists4 pm: 1.4% of 63964 checklists5 pm: 1.6% of 48520 checklists6 pm: 1.8% of 33196 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19700) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (6160) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1943) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1119) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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
January1.9%1.7%2.1%1.5%
February1.5%1.0%0.7%1.0%
March1.1%1.1%0.8%1.1%
April1.1%1.0%1.3%1.1%
May1.0%1.1%1.5%1.8%
June2.0%1.8%2.2%2.2%
July1.9%2.7%3.0%3.7%
August4.0%4.5%4.5%4.2%
September3.2%2.6%2.5%2.2%
October2.3%2.2%3.6%2.7%
November1.8%1.9%1.9%2.0%
December1.6%1.5%1.2%2.2%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: year-round, peaks the second week of August
  • Virginia: arrives the second week of April, 3 weeks later than North Carolina
  • Georgia: year-round, peaks late July
  • Maryland: arrives late May, 9 weeks later than North Carolina

Common questions

When do Tricolored Herons arrive in North Carolina?
Tricolored Herons arrive in North Carolina in mid March, peak in mid August (4.4% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of February.
When do Tricolored Herons leave North Carolina?
Most Tricolored Herons have left North Carolina by the second week of February, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Tricolored Heron in North Carolina?
The Tricolored Heron is reported most often in mid August, on about 4.4% of North Carolina checklists.
Where in North Carolina are Tricolored Herons seen most often?
By county, Dare County, New Hanover County, and Hyde County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Tricolored Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).