South · Atlantic Flyway
Herons in Florida
Herons in Florida come down to 11 species with regular eBird records, led by the Great Egret. Together they account for 3,147,962 of the 32 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 9.8% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Reddish Egret and American Bittern. 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 Florida: 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) — 659,322 records, 2.1% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) — 533,690 records, 1.7% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
3. Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) — 475,576 records, 1.5% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
4. Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) — 402,146 records, 1.3% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
5. Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) — 385,728 records, 1.2% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
6. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) — 251,450 records, 0.8% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
7. Green Heron (Butorides virescens) — 222,518 records, 0.7% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
8. Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) — 85,276 records, 0.3% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
9. Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) — 63,549 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
10. Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) — 53,960 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
11. American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) — 14,747 records, 0.05% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from October to March and peaking in January.
When to see herons in Florida
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, herons are most prominent in July, June and August and least in October and April. 10 of the 11 species are year-round — Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron and Cattle Egret and 4 more — so there is no month without them.
Winter visitors. American Bittern arrives around October and leaves after March (peak January).
Attracting herons to Florida 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 Florida the heron most likely to turn up is the Great Egret, a year-round resident, followed by the Great Blue Heron.
Herons in Florida: FAQ
How many species of herons are there in Florida?
11 species of herons have regular eBird records in Florida (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Reddish Egret and American Bittern.
What is the most common heron in Florida?
The Great Egret, with 659,322 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Great Blue Heron with 533,690. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see herons in Florida?
July, June and August, when the combined share of Florida eBird records belonging to herons is highest. Winter visitors such as the American Bittern arrive around October.
More birds in Florida
Herons in other states
Herons in Florida: 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: Florida 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.