WhenToBird

Nyctanassa violacea · Ardeidae

When Do Yellow-crowned Night Herons Arrive in Florida?

Adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Photo: Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Yellow-crowned Night Heron is in Florida all year. It turns up on about 5.4% of checklists at its peak (mid June) and on 2.2% in its quietest week (late February).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekJun 15-21mid June
Quietest weekFeb 22-28late February

Best: mid June. Here all year. Peak: on about 5.4% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%2%4%6%Jan 1-7: 2.6% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.9% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.9% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.8% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.6% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.6% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 2.0% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.3% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.1% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 2.4% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.4% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.6% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.8% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.2% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.6% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 4.1% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 4.4% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 4.5% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 4.7% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 5.0% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 4.9% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 5.4% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 5.3% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 5.4% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.0% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.3% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 4.9% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 4.7% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.3% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.5% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 4.2% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 4.1% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 4.0% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 3.5% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 3.2% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.0% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.7% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.6% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.3% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.4% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.1% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.3% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.4% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.6% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.6% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.7% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.4% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 3.0% 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. Monroe CountyBest the second week of September · 593 checklists that week, 62,908 in all17%
  2. Pinellas CountyBest early June · 2158 checklists that week, 148,901 in all16%
  3. Broward CountyBest the second week of May · 1098 checklists that week, 57,530 in all15%
  4. Lee CountyBest mid June · 1030 checklists that week, 110,404 in all15%
  5. Charlotte CountyBest the second week of June · 454 checklists that week, 40,485 in all14%
  6. Manatee CountyBest the second week of May · 1206 checklists that week, 63,443 in all14%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ponce de Leon Park & Boat RampCharlotte County, best mid June · 27 checklists that week, 525 in all95%
  2. Deadman KeyPinellas County, best late April · 27 checklists that week, 944 in all86%
  3. Tom Renick ParkVolusia County, best the second week of June · 34 checklists that week, 1,941 in all80%
  4. J. N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Sanibel Bayou)Lee County, best the second week of April · 32 checklists that week, 920 in all78%
  5. Sanibel BayouLee County, best the second week of June · 33 checklists that week, 4,189 in all78%
  6. Herman BaySt. Lucie County, best late September · 24 checklists that week, 583 in all77%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Yellow-crowned Night Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (4.8% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%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: 5.6% of 94591 checklists7 am: 4.6% of 296183 checklists8 am: 3.9% of 319987 checklists9 am: 3.2% of 254830 checklists10 am: 2.7% of 209480 checklists11 am: 2.3% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 2.1% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 2.1% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 2.1% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 2.2% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 2.2% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 2.6% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 3.7% 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
January2.6%2.9%2.9%2.8%
February2.6%2.6%2.0%2.3%
March2.1%2.4%2.4%2.6%
April2.8%3.2%3.6%4.1%
May4.4%4.5%4.7%5.0%
June4.9%5.4%5.3%5.4%
July5.0%5.3%4.9%4.7%
August4.3%4.5%4.2%4.1%
September4.0%3.5%3.2%3.0%
October2.7%2.6%2.3%2.4%
November2.1%2.3%2.4%2.6%
December2.6%2.7%2.4%3.0%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Yellow-crowned Night Herons arrive in Florida?
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron is in Florida all year. It turns up on about 5.4% of checklists at its peak (mid June) and on 2.2% in its quietest week (late February).
When do Yellow-crowned Night Herons leave Florida?
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron does not leave Florida: it is reported all year, from 2.2% of checklists in late February to 5.4% in mid June.
When is the best time to see a Yellow-crowned Night Heron in Florida?
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron is reported most often in mid June, on about 5.4% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Yellow-crowned Night Herons seen most often?
By county, Monroe County, Pinellas County, and Broward County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Yellow-crowned Night Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).