West · Central Flyway
Herons in Colorado
Herons in Colorado come down to 11 species with regular eBird records, led by the Great Blue Heron. Together they account for 255,611 of the 16 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 1.6% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, American Bittern, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret 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 Colorado: 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 Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) — 171,600 records, 1.1% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) — 45,627 records, 0.3% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from April to September and peaking in August.
3. Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) — 20,572 records, 0.1% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from April to September and peaking in June.
4. Great Egret (Ardea alba) — 11,470 records, 0.07% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in April, May, August and September with a peak in September.
5. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) — 2,065 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from April to October and peaking in April.
6. Green Heron (Butorides virescens) — 1,735 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from May to October and peaking in May.
7. American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) — 1,335 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from April to October and peaking in May.
8. Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) — 817 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in April, May, October and November with a peak in May.
9. Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) — 194 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in May with a peak in May.
10. Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) — 114 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in April and September with a peak in September.
11. Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) — 82 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in May, June and September with a peak in June.
When to see herons in Colorado
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, herons are most prominent in September, August and April and least in December and February. 1 of the 11 species is year-round — Great Blue Heron — so there is no month without them.
Summer visitors. Snowy Egret arrives around April and is mostly gone after September (peak August); Black-crowned Night Heron arrives around April and is mostly gone after September (peak June); Cattle Egret arrives around April and is mostly gone after October (peak April); Green Heron arrives around May and is mostly gone after October (peak May); American Bittern arrives around April and is mostly gone after October (peak May).
Passage migrants. Great Egret is reported mainly in April, May, August and September; Yellow-crowned Night Heron is reported mainly in April, May, October and November; Little Blue Heron is reported mainly in May; Reddish Egret is reported mainly in April and September; Tricolored Heron is reported mainly in May, June and September.
Attracting herons to Colorado 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 Colorado the heron most likely to turn up is the Great Blue Heron.
Herons in Colorado: FAQ
How many species of herons are there in Colorado?
11 species of herons have regular eBird records in Colorado (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, American Bittern, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret and Tricolored Heron.
What is the most common heron in Colorado?
The Great Blue Heron, with 171,600 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Snowy Egret with 45,627. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see herons in Colorado?
September, August and April, when the combined share of Colorado eBird records belonging to herons is highest. Summer visitors such as the Snowy Egret arrive around April.
More birds in Colorado
Herons in other states
Herons in Colorado: 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: Colorado 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.