West · Pacific Flyway
Herons in California
Herons in California come down to 11 species with regular eBird records, led by the Great Egret. Together they account for 2,043,799 of the 62 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 3.3% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Green Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Little Blue Heron, American Bittern and Tricolored Heron. Herons, egrets, and bitterns are the long-legged wading birds that stalk fish and frogs in shallow water. The large species are conspicuous year-round in the South; farther north, most arrive in spring and leave when the water freezes.
Herons in California: every species, most-reported first
Every heron with at least 25 eBird records in the state from 2020–2024, most-reported first. The status label is derived from each species’ own monthly share of all state records.
1. Great Egret (Ardea alba) — 581,679 records, 0.9% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) — 534,988 records, 0.9% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
3. Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) — 494,143 records, 0.8% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
4. Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) — 228,048 records, 0.4% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
5. Green Heron (Butorides virescens) — 115,257 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
6. Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) — 24,125 records, 0.04% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
7. Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) — 19,962 records, 0.03% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from July to February and peaking in August.
8. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) — 18,316 records, 0.03% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
9. Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) — 14,097 records, 0.02% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
10. American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) — 10,938 records, 0.02% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
11. Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) — 2,246 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from July to February and peaking in October.
When to see herons in California
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, herons are most prominent in August, July and September and least in April and May. 9 of the 11 species are year-round — Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Green Heron and Yellow-crowned Night Heron and 3 more — so there is no month without them.
Winter visitors. Reddish Egret arrives around July and leaves after February (peak August); Tricolored Heron arrives around July and leaves after February (peak October).
Attracting herons to California backyards
A garden pond with fish will attract the Great Blue Heron whether you want it or not. Otherwise, herons are birds of marshes, lakeshores, and estuaries — look for them at dawn and dusk when they feed most actively.
In California the heron most likely to turn up is the Great Egret, a year-round resident, followed by the Great Blue Heron.
Herons in California: FAQ
How many species of herons are there in California?
11 species of herons have regular eBird records in California (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Green Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Little Blue Heron, American Bittern and Tricolored Heron.
What is the most common heron in California?
The Great Egret, with 581,679 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Great Blue Heron with 534,988. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see herons in California?
August, July and September, when the combined share of California eBird records belonging to herons is highest. Winter visitors such as the Reddish Egret arrive around July.
More birds in California
Herons in other states
Herons in California: sources
Every number on this page comes from the EOD – eBird Observation Dataset published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and distributed through GBIF under a CC BY 4.0 license: California records from 2020–2024, retrieved 2026-09-18. Species are drawn from the families Ardeidae; only species with at least 25 records are listed, and a species is called a year-round resident when its monthly share of state records stays above 30% of its own peak in ten or more months. “Records” are individual eBird observations, so they reflect how often birders report a species, not a population count.