South · Mississippi Flyway
Herons in Tennessee
Herons in Tennessee come down to 10 species with regular eBird records, led by the Great Blue Heron. Together they account for 193,500 of the 8.7 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 2.2% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Little Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, 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 Tennessee: 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) — 122,933 records, 1.4% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. Great Egret (Ardea alba) — 31,571 records, 0.4% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in July, August, September and October with a peak in August.
3. Green Heron (Butorides virescens) — 23,465 records, 0.3% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from May to September and peaking in August.
4. Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) — 3,845 records, 0.04% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in July, August and September with a peak in August.
5. Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) — 3,425 records, 0.04% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from January to September and peaking in August.
6. Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) — 3,216 records, 0.04% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from April to September and peaking in August.
7. Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) — 2,191 records, 0.03% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in July, August and September with a peak in August.
8. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) — 2,093 records, 0.02% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from April to September and peaking in August.
9. American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) — 606 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in March and April with a peak in April.
10. Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) — 155 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a passage migrant, reported mainly in August with a peak in August.
When to see herons in Tennessee
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, herons are most prominent in August, July and September and least in February and March. 1 of the 10 species is year-round — Great Blue Heron — so there is no month without them.
Summer visitors. Green Heron arrives around May and is mostly gone after September (peak August); Black-crowned Night Heron arrives around January and is mostly gone after September (peak August); Yellow-crowned Night Heron arrives around April and is mostly gone after September (peak August); Cattle Egret arrives around April and is mostly gone after September (peak August).
Passage migrants. Great Egret is reported mainly in July, August, September and October; Little Blue Heron is reported mainly in July, August and September; Snowy Egret is reported mainly in July, August and September; American Bittern is reported mainly in March and April; Tricolored Heron is reported mainly in August.
Attracting herons to Tennessee 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 Tennessee the heron most likely to turn up is the Great Blue Heron.
Herons in Tennessee: FAQ
How many species of herons are there in Tennessee?
10 species of herons have regular eBird records in Tennessee (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Little Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, American Bittern and Tricolored Heron.
What is the most common heron in Tennessee?
The Great Blue Heron, with 122,933 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Great Egret with 31,571. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see herons in Tennessee?
August, July and September, when the combined share of Tennessee eBird records belonging to herons is highest. Summer visitors such as the Green Heron arrive around May.
More birds in Tennessee
Herons in other states
Herons in Tennessee: 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: Tennessee 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.