WhenToBird

Nyctanassa violacea · Ardeidae

When Do Yellow-crowned Night Herons Arrive in Texas?

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

Yellow-crowned Night Herons reach Texas in the second week of March, are common by early April, peak in late June (10% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 8-14the second week of March
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakJun 22-30late June
Most gone bySep 15-21mid September

Best: late June. First arrivals the second week of March; most are gone by mid September. Peak: on about 10% of Texas checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decrare

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

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 1.7% of 66038 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.8% of 52445 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.6% of 52985 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.7% of 71020 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.6% of 52306 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.6% of 55887 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.3% of 69016 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.9% of 52998 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.8% of 50836 checklistsMar 8-14: 2.7% of 51749 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.4% of 53731 checklistsMar 22-31: 4.3% of 82049 checklistsApr 1-7: 4.7% of 65854 checklistsApr 8-14: 6.1% of 78434 checklistsApr 15-21: 7.6% of 92302 checklistsApr 22-30: 7.7% of 122878 checklistsMay 1-7: 8.5% of 74592 checklistsMay 8-14: 8.9% of 61008 checklistsMay 15-21: 8.9% of 43365 checklistsMay 22-31: 8.7% of 52736 checklistsJun 1-7: 9.6% of 31643 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.8% of 30131 checklistsJun 15-21: 10% of 26802 checklistsJun 22-30: 10% of 32822 checklistsJul 1-7: 10% of 27213 checklistsJul 8-14: 9.8% of 24555 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.6% of 24146 checklistsJul 22-31: 9.5% of 34536 checklistsAug 1-7: 9.4% of 25764 checklistsAug 8-14: 8.8% of 26347 checklistsAug 15-21: 8.3% of 28431 checklistsAug 22-31: 7.7% of 42838 checklistsSep 1-7: 6.9% of 35070 checklistsSep 8-14: 5.8% of 33893 checklistsSep 15-21: 5.4% of 32572 checklistsSep 22-30: 4.4% of 43771 checklistsOct 1-7: 3.7% of 34143 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.5% of 37563 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.0% of 36263 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.7% of 49170 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.4% of 43301 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.8% of 48744 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.6% of 42213 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.4% of 54455 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.8% of 40166 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.5% of 41035 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.3% of 46983 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.5% of 73015 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 Texas 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 Texas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Fort Bend CountyBest early June · 717 checklists that week, 57,229 in all37%
  2. Navarro CountyBest early August · 13 checklists that week, 1,319 in all31%
  3. Lee CountyBest mid July · 12 checklists that week, 2,078 in all31%
  4. Galveston CountyBest early June · 961 checklists that week, 129,637 in all31%
  5. Harris CountyBest the second week of June · 2792 checklists that week, 205,225 in all28%
  6. Brazoria CountyBest the second week of June · 364 checklists that week, 38,709 in all27%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Gabbard ParkBrazos County, best late March · 43 checklists that week, 257 in all99%
  2. Shelton Ranches Reservoir Number 2Kerr County, best the second week of September · 29 checklists that week, 980 in all96%
  3. Comal SpringsComal County, best early July · 20 checklists that week, 1,726 in all91%
  4. Moody GardensGalveston County, best early July · 21 checklists that week, 1,808 in all90%
  5. El Jardin ParkHarris County, best the second week of July · 32 checklists that week, 1,394 in all90%
  6. Colleyville Nature CenterTarrant County, best late July · 69 checklists that week, 3,241 in all89%

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

Best time of day

In Texas, the Yellow-crowned Night Heron is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (8.3% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (898) to judge1 am: too few checklists (756) to judge2 am: too few checklists (663) to judge3 am: too few checklists (741) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1537) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6113) to judge6 am: 13% of 74687 checklists7 am: 7.1% of 285131 checklists8 am: 5.8% of 329960 checklists9 am: 4.2% of 267889 checklists10 am: 3.5% of 218205 checklists11 am: 3.2% of 178879 checklists12 pm: 3.2% of 153722 checklists1 pm: 3.3% of 144662 checklists2 pm: 3.2% of 138578 checklists3 pm: 3.1% of 136878 checklists4 pm: 3.1% of 137550 checklists5 pm: 3.7% of 113599 checklists6 pm: 6.2% of 81743 checklists7 pm: 8.0% of 53396 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (17221) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4048) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1965) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (990) 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
January1.7%1.8%1.6%1.7%
February1.6%1.6%1.3%1.9%
March1.8%2.7%3.4%4.3%
April4.7%6.1%7.6%7.7%
May8.5%8.9%8.9%8.7%
June9.6%9.8%10%10%
July10%9.8%9.6%9.5%
August9.4%8.8%8.3%7.7%
September6.9%5.8%5.4%4.4%
October3.7%2.5%2.0%1.7%
November2.4%2.8%1.6%1.4%
December1.8%1.5%1.3%1.5%

Neighboring states

  • Louisiana: arrives the second week of March, in the same week than Texas
  • Oklahoma: arrives the second week of April, 4 weeks later than Texas
  • Mississippi: arrives the second week of April, 4 weeks later than Texas
  • Kansas: arrives early May, 7 weeks later than Texas

Common questions

When do Yellow-crowned Night Herons arrive in Texas?
Yellow-crowned Night Herons reach Texas in the second week of March, are common by early April, peak in late June (10% of checklists), and most are gone by mid September.
When do Yellow-crowned Night Herons leave Texas?
Most Yellow-crowned Night Herons have left Texas by mid September, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of October.
When is the best time to see a Yellow-crowned Night Heron in Texas?
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron is reported most often in late June, on about 10% of Texas checklists.
Where in Texas are Yellow-crowned Night Herons seen most often?
By county, Fort Bend County, Navarro County, and Lee County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Yellow-crowned Night Heron (counties with at least 200 checklists).