In Utah, six of the seventeen species of herons that live in North America have been discovered. There are six more that are uncommon or unintentional. This guide will aid you identify and explore these long-legged birds.
Herons, which can be found around saltwater, freshwater, or even peering into your backyard pond for a quick snack, are water-loving birds.
Nonetheless, many of your fish herons are protected, so a net is the best way to catch them if you’re having trouble.
Herons are usually solitary hunters who stand motionless and wait for prey or dash about to get it moving. Heronries are huge colonies where they breed.
A collection of herons is known by a slew of names, including “rookery,” “battery,” “hedge,” “siege,” and “pose” among others.
12 Species Of Heron In Utah
1. Great Blue Heron
All year, northern Utah is home to Great Blue Herons, but from March through mid-June and mid-July through November, the heron population increases. Birdwatchers reported them in 11% of state summer checklists, 9% of state winter checklists, and 16% of state migratory checklists.
The Great Blue Heron, America’s biggest heron, is a huge, majestic bird.
From the front of their eyes to the back of their heads, they have a white face with a black crest or plume. Yellow-orangish bills adorn their heads.
They have grayish-blue bodies and long gray legs, with a long gray neck with black and white streaking in the front.
- Ardea herodias
- Length: 46 – 52 in (117 – 132 cm)
- Weight: 128 oz (3628 g)
- Wingspan: 77 – 82 in (196 – 208 cm)
Most US states, with the exception of those that breed in the Mid-West and Canada, have Great Blue Herons all year.
In Florida, the Great White Heron is a white morph subspecies of the Great Blue Heron.
The Great Blue Heron may be found in a variety of wetland habitats. Fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded marshes, lake borders, and shorelines are all habitats for them.
Fish, frogs, salamanders, shrimps, crabs, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and other aquatic insects make up the majority of Great Blue Herons’ diet.
When wading or standing in water, they are able to capture their prey. Hovering above water, diving into the water, leaping feet-first from perches, and floating on the surface of the water are all examples.
Great Blue Heron nests are located in colonies high up in the trees near water. Twigs and sticks are used to make the nests, which are lined with softer material.
Since Great Blue Herons reuse their nests, they can enlarge them over time by repairing and adding to the nests.
The female then deposits two to seven eggs. For roughly four weeks, both parents incubate the eggs.
Fun Fact: With their heads thrown back and their wings outstretched, Great Blue Herons defend their feeding ground with spectacular displays.
2. Snowy Egret
From April to October, snowy egrets breed in northwestern Utah. Summer checklists include them in 6% of the time.
Little, all-white herons called snowy egrets, as their name suggests. Their irises are yellow, and their skin around the eye is long, with black beaks and black legs. They have brilliant yellow feet.
Long, lacy feathers grow on their heads, necks, and backs during the breeding season. During courting, their lores and face become reddish-pink, and their toes turn orange-red.
Surprisingly, during aggressive encounters, these parts of their bodies become bright red.
Adults have head plumes, whereas juveniles do not. Their bills and legs are also lighter in color, with more greenish-yellow lores and legs.
- Egretta thula
- Length: 22 – 27 in (56 -69 cm)
- Weight: 16.75 oz (475 g)
- Wingspan: 39.4 in (100 cm)
Except for the Gulf Coast and southwest coasts, snowy egrets migrate from every state in the US. Throughout Mexico, Central, and South America, they stay throughout the year.
Snowy Egrets may be found in marshes, riverbanks, lakesides, pools, salt marshes, and estuaries. They prefer shallow, wetland habitats. Swamp woods with protective trees and plants are preferred for nesting.
For fish, crustaceans, snails, frogs, and crayfish, snowy egrets hunt in shallow water. They may wait for prey to come to them or stir the water in order for their prey to be easier to capture when they are standing still.
The males pick the nests of Snowy Egrets. They choose a spot and put on a full show to draw in their mates. Males continue to provide sticks, sedges, or reeds while the female creates the nest when they couple up.
Fun Fact: The exquisite white head feathers of snowy egrets were almost hunted to extinction because they served as a stunning decoration or accessory for women’s hats.
3. Black-crowned Night-Heron
From April through October, the Black-crowned Night-Herons breed in western Utah. During the year, however, a few may be seen around Provo and SLC. Summer checklists have 4% of them, while winter checklists have 1%.
The typical image of the heron family is not represented by Black-crowned Night-Herons, or simply Night Herons. Its bill, neck, and legs are all shorter than those of a typical duck.
The caps of adult Black-crowned Night-herons are black and extend from a white line above the bill.
The lores (in front of the eye, towards the beak) are green-blue, but their eyes are red. The back is darker than the rest of their bodies. Yellow is the color of their legs and feet.
The black head and back become glossy blue-green during the breeding season, with two or three white feathers on the crown appearing. The legs and feet become red or pink, as well as the lores turning black.
Adults have a dull grayish-brown coloration with streaks and spots.
- Nycticorax nycticorax
- Length: 25 – 28 in (64 – 71 cm)
- Weight: 38.8 oz (1100 g)
- Wingspan: 44 – 45 in (112 – 114 cm)
The range of Black-crowned Night-herons is enormous. Before heading south, they breed in the United States and Canada. Along the coasts, some may be found year-round.
Wetland habitats such as shallow freshwater or brackish rivers are home to Black-crowned Night-herons. Artificial habitats like reservoirs, canals, and fish ponds are also home to these creatures.
Black-crowned Night-herons feed on whatever they can find at night, such as crayfish, fish, and even turtles or worms.
Males build nests for Black-crowned Night-herons in bushes or trees, which are started by them in preparation for selecting their mates.
The female will lay seven eggs in 2-day intervals after that. For around twenty-four days, both parents begin to incubate the eggs as soon as they are deposited. Over the next three weeks, the parents will be responsible for their baby.
Fun Fact: For more than a century, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., has hosted a colony of Black-crowned Night-herons during the summer.
4. Great Egret
During migration, from April to June and August to October, Great Egrets breed in northwestern Utah but their numbers rise.
During the winter, some may be seen near St. Provo, Utah, and Salt Lake City are among the cities mentioned. Summer and winter checklists include them in 1% of the time.
Males have neon green facial skin and long, wispy feathers (aigrettes) extending from their backs to their tails during the breeding season, and Great Egrets are at their best when courting.
They’re Great White Herons because they’re huge, all-white herons. Common egrets are another name for these birds. These enormous birds feature dagger-like, long, brilliant yellow beaks, as well as long black legs and feet.
Males, females, and juveniles of other species have the same appearance.
- Ardea alba
- Length: 37 – 41 in (94 – 104cm)
- Weight: 59.96 oz (1699 g)
- Wingspan: 54 – 55 in (137 – 140 cm)
The range of Great Egrets is quite large. Those in the southern and coastal United States stay there throughout the year, but those farther inland migrate south.
Great Egrets may be found in marshes and tidal flats, as well as fish ponds, in both freshwater and saltwater.
Fish, frogs, small mammals, crustaceans, and insects make up the majority of the diet of Great Egrets. Great Egrets will stand still on the water, waiting for and scouting out their victim, before striking and spears it with their long bills.
Among colonies, Great Egret nests may be found. To protect their nests from predators like raccoons, they are generally positioned high up in trees, preferably on islands.
sticks, twigs, and marsh plant stems are used to make them. Both parents incubate the eggs for around twenty-five days, which can yield up to six eggs.
Fun Fact: Because of their long white feathers (aigrettes), the Great Egret was almost driven to extinction. They were primarily used to decorate ladies’ hats.
5. Cattle Egret
Cattle Egrets breed in Utah during the summer, with Brigham City, Salt Lake City, and Provo as their primary breeding locations. They first appear in 1% of summer checklists in April, and migrate between October and April.
Cattle Egrets have a clever technique of catching their meal…they perch on the backs of cattle, which causes the food to flee as the cow moves and creates disturbance in the soil.
Cattle Egrets are little, short-necked egrets with white bodies and faint orange-brown patches on their heads, shoulders, and backs.
Their eyes and skin around their faces are bright yellow. They have small yellow beaks and greenish-black legs that are short. Both men and women have a similar appearance.
During the breeding season, Cattle Egrets change color and become more luminous, especially on their legs and face.
Their pale orange markings turn darker during the breeding season. During the height of their courting, their bills, legs, and irises turn bright red, and their face skin (lores) becomes pinkish-red.
- Bubulcus ibis
- Length: 19 – 21 in (48 – 53 cm)
- Weight: 17.98 oz (510 g)
- Wingspan: 36 – 38 in (91 – 97 cm)
The range of Cattle Egrets extends across the globe, however those in Mexico, the Gulf Coast, and southern states in the United States are permanently present.
Breeders, on the other hand, migrate south following their breeding farther north, primarily in eastern US states.
They do venture into the edges of aquatic environest, such as riverbanks, ponds, and shallow marshes, despite their preference for staying on land and atop cattle. Golf courses, lawns, athletic fields, dumps, and parks are all places where you may see them.
Insects, particularly grasshoppers, crickets, flies, beetles, and moths are the main food of Cattle Egrets. Spiders, frogs, small snakes, lizards, earthworms, and fish are among the animals they consume.
Cattle Egret nests are generally created in woodlands near lakes or rivers, in marshes, or on tiny islands. They’re constructed of sticks and reeds.
Females lay nine eggs, which take around twenty-five days to incubate. The young take around 45 days to grow, fledge, and become completely autonomous from their parents.
Fun Fact: Rather of correcting for light refraction when feeding in water, the Cattle Egret’s eyes have evolved to forage on land by having binocular vision for judging distance to capture prey.
6. American Bittern
In the spring of the American Bittern, you might hear their peculiar watery boom calls long before you see them if you’re lucky. Below are a few samples worth checking out.
The Heron family includes American Bitterns, which are hefty, medium-sized birds.
Because of their brown striped and mottled patterning, they resemble the reeds they hide in, and their tendency to stay motionless amid the reeds with their head tilted up, they appear like them.
They have small legs and yellow eyes that turn orange during mating.
- Botaurus lentiginosus
- Length: 23 in (58 cm)
- Weight: 25.6 oz (726 g)
- Wingspan: 42 – 50 in (107 – 127 cm)
Before traveling to the Gulf Coast and Mexico, American Bitterns breed in Canada and northern United States states.
In shallow freshwater marshes and wetlands with tall reeds, you can find American Bitterns almost exclusively.
Look for them among the coarse vegetation around lakes and ponds’ edges.
Fish, crustaceans, insects, amphibians, and small mammals make up the American Bitterns’ diet. They wait quietly and motionlessly among the reeds, ready to pounce on their victim as it approaches.
American Bitterns’ nests may be discovered amid thick vegetation on the water. Using available reeds, sedges, cattails, and other vegetation, females select a nest location and construct it themselves.
Fun Fact: Like the reeds that conceal them, American Bitterns point upwards and sway gently from side to side.
7. Green Heron
Although Utah is not known for its Green Herons, there have been reports in Provo during summer and Salt Lake City during winter.
The glossy green-black coloring of the crowns, crests, backs, and wings of Green Herons makes them seem hunchbacked and dark from afar, so you need to get a closer look to see this.
In the breeding season, their bills turn black, with two-toned dark on top and yellow at the bottom. Their irises and legs change color as well, from yellow to orange.
Chestnut or maroon are the colors of their heads, necks, and breasts. The neck is striped with a wide white strip down the middle. Gray is the color of their bellies.
With dark heads and a crest, juveniles are browner.
- Butorides virescens
- Length: 18 – 22 in (46 – 56 cm)
- Weight: 9.17 oz (260 g)
- Wingspan: 25 – 26 in (64 – 66 cm)
Before flying south, Green Herons breed primarily in the eastern United States and the Pacific Coast. However, they will remain all year in the Gulf Coast, Caribbean, and Mexico.
Swamps, marshes, lakes, ponds, and other damp environments with deep vegetation are home to Green Herons. They may stay in dry woods or orchards if there are water sources nearby, despite their preference for coastal and inland wetlands.
Little fish, insects, spiders, crustaceans, snails, amphibians, reptiles, and rodents make up the diet of Green Herons. Instead of wading, they hunt from the shore by perching on sticks over the water.
Green Herons’ nests are constructed of long, slender twigs placed high in the trees over water, however they may also be left on the ground, disguised by vegetation.
Females lay up to six eggs every two days, spaced out in two-day intervals. The last egg is laid and the parental incubation begins around twenty days later. When the eggs are hatched, they both feed their young.
Fun Facts: Herons, like many other birds, employ bait to catch their food, such as bread, feathers, twigs, and leaves. (Davis and Kushlan 1994)
8. Tricolored Heron
In Utah, Tricolored Herons are considered uncommon or accidental, but they were seen in Provo in 2022.
The white belly and neck stripe of a Tricolored Heron distinguishes it from other herons.
Adults that are not breeding have blue-gray, purple, and white feathers mixed in. Yellowish or greyish in color, with a black tip, their bills are. Yellow or olive green are the legs and feet of these animals.
The back of the head of breeding adults is likewise covered in thin, white feathers, and the bill becomes blue at the base. On their necks and backs, they have finer feathers. Their legs, too, become reddish in hue.
The neck, upper breasts, upper back, and wings of juveniles are more reddish-brown.
- Egretta tricolor
- Length: 24 – 26 in (61 – 66 cm)
- Weight: 14.6 oz (414 g)
- Wingspan: 36 in (91 cm)
Throughout the Gulf Coast, Mexico, and northern South America, tricolored Herons may be seen all year. Those that breed farther north in the Atlantic Coast migrate south as well.
Freshwater and brackish marshes, estuaries, and coastal tidal pools or swamps are all habitats for Tricolored Herons.
Tricolored Herons are watchful of their feeding areas and feed alone. Other wading birds will be chased away from their area, and they’ll love to eat small fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects.
Stalkers, chasers, stangers, and stalkers are all expected to be present. Before striking, they squat low in the water with their bellies pressed to the surface and their necks drawn in.
Tricolored Heron nests are sticks built in groups in trees and shrubs, and form colonies. The female lays three to five eggs, and both parents help incubate them for three weeks before they hatch. They both breastfeed their infants as well.
Fun Fact: The only dark-colored heron with a white belly, the Tricolored Heron was formerly known as the Louisiana heron.
9. Little Blue Heron
In Utah, little blue herons are an unusual species that has been declared an accidental species. In 2019, they were last seen near Ivins.
Adults of Little Blue Herons are rather large. They have long, stretched bodies that are medium to large in size. With dangling feathers across the nape, their heads and necks have a purple hue.
During the breeding season, their eyes may turn gray-green and are pale yellow. Their two-toned bills, which are pale blue or grayish with black tips, are long and dagger-shaped. Slate-blue is the color of their skin. They have black to gray-green legs that are long.
Before becoming a combination of dark gray, blue, and white, juvenile Little Blue Herons are completely white during their first year.
- Egretta caerulea
- Length: 24 – 29 in (61 – 74 cm)
- Weight: 16.22 oz (460 g)
- Wingspan: 40 – 41 in (102 – 104 cm)
Before heading south, Little Blue Herons breed in the eastern United States, then spend the rest of the year in southern Mexico and southern South America.
Whether in swamps, marshes, ponds, streams, lagoons, tidal flats, canals, ditches, fish hatcheries, or flooded fields. Little Blue Herons may be found near water.
Fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, spiders, crustaceans, mice, and insects are among the foods Little Blue Herons eat. Adults prefer to go alone, whereas juveniles prefer to remain with mixed groups.
Little Blue Heron nests are typically built of sticks and placed in colonies with other herons. Up to six eggs are laid by the female. The incubation period is up to twenty-four days for both parents.
Fun Fact: Juvenile Little Blue Herons’ white coloring enables them to capture more fish and gain additional protection from predators, allowing them to coexist with Snowy Egrets.
10. Reddish Egret
In Utah, Reddish Egrets are classified as a near-threatened species and were last observed in Kens Lake in 2019, according to records.
The reddish Egrets’ dark pink and grayish-blue colors, as well as their frantic efforts to capture fish, make this one of the most interesting birds to observe.
They come in dark and light morphs, although white morphs are uncommon. They are called Reddish Egrets, yet they are actually darker.
Blue-gray bodies and cinnamon-toned heads, necks, and breasts distinguish dark morph Reddish Egrets. Pink with a black tip, their bills are pink.
White morphs have completely white bodies. Their eyes are straw yellow, and their skin (lores) and legs and feet are blue-black, but they both have brown straw yellow eyes.
Adults may breed with either morph, but juveniles are likewise dark or white.
- Egretta rufescens
- Length: 27 – 32 in (69 – 81 cm)
- Weight: 15.9 oz (451 g)
- Wingspan: 46 in (117 cm)
From the Gulf Coast, East Coast, and Mexico to northern South America, Reddish Egrets may be found throughout the year.
In open marine flats and beaches, you may see Reddish Egrets. Marshes, shallow bays, and lagoons are also home to them.
Reddish Egrets generally eat by themselves. They’re hoping to capture fish as they cross shallow, flooded flats. They immediately stab fish with their beaks after they’ve frightened them up.
Reddish Egret nests are frequently found in colonies, with both parents contributing to their construction. Protected islands with neighboring feeding grounds are common habitats.
The female lays seven eggs, which are 25 days old when they’re hatched by both parents. Even after they leave the nest, they both care for their young and will feed them for up to nine weeks.
Fun Fact: The male will perform a head toss display and beak snapping during mating, when his feathers puff out and stand out on his head, neck, and back.
11. Least Bittern
In Utah, the Least Bittern is an accidental species. They’ve been missing from the state for a long time, and they were last seen in St. In the year 2015, George was born.
In the reeds, you may hear Least Bitterns before you see them, since they are the smallest herons in the Americas.
Their yellow beak is black with a brown and white coloration. Their toes and claws are long, and they utilize them to grip the reeds.
Females and juveniles have lighter backs and crowns than males, but they are otherwise similar.
- Ixobrychus exilis
- Length: 11 – 14 in (28 – 36 cm)
- Weight: 3 oz (85 g)
- Wingspan: 16 – 18 in (41 – 46 cm)
The Bitterns’ normal range is Europe and Africa, with a few exceptions in North America.
In thick freshwater and brackish marshlands with many tall cattails and reeds, you may discover Least Bitterns. When they perched on reeds, look for them.
They’ll immediately freeze up, raise their bills to the sky, and sway in rhythm with the reeds when they perceive danger.
Little fish, frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, slugs, dragonflies, aquatic bugs, and occasionally mice make up the diet of Least Bitterns. They situate themselves among the reeds, performing acrobatic contortions in order to reach their victim on the water’s surface.
The female of Least Bitterns creates well-concealed nests from cattails and marsh vegetation. Both parents incubate the eggs for around twenty days after she lays up to seven. They then regurgitate food to feed newly hatched chicks.
Fun Fact: The neck of the least bittern is long, and it hunchbacks most of the time.
12. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
In Utah, the yellow-crowned night-heron is an unusual species that hasn’t been seen in several years.
The yellow crowns of adult Yellow-crowned Night Herons are topped by two plumes. They have huge black bills. Their snouts, below their eyes, are black with a little white patch on the sides.
Yellow crowns with two plumes extending from their heads distinguish adult Yellow-crowned Night Herons. Their bills are black and they have a large beak. They have a little white patch on the sides of their heads, with the remainder of their skulls being black.
As they mature, their eyes turn from yellow to orange to red.
Their wings feature a scaled pattern and are gray-blue in color. During breeding season, their legs turn coral, pink, or red and are long and yellow.
Grayish-brown juveniles with white streaks and spots cover their bodies. It takes three years for them to reach maturity.
- Nyctanassa violacea
- Length: 22 – 28 in (56 – 71 cm)
- Weight: 25.6 oz ( 726 g)
- Wingspan: 42 0 44 in (107 – 112 cm)
Before moving south, yellow-crowned night-herons breed mostly in the southern United States. Throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern South America, they stay throughout the year.
In coastal places with a lot of crustaceans, shallow waters, and steep edges on which to feed, you may see Yellow-crowned Night-herons at daybreak and dusk.
Crustaceans like crabs and crayfish make up the majority of Yellow-crowned Night-herons’ diets. Fish, insects, worms, mollusks, lizards, snakes, rats, and birds are among the animals they consume. Little prey may be devoured instantly by them.
Crabs are often slaughtered by having their limbs separated or stabbed.
Yellow-crowned Night-herons commonly nest in small, loose groups, but always construct nests near water. Both parents construct the nests using soft sticks and twigs gathered from grass, leaves, or moss.
Following that, they lay eight eggs and coexist for three weeks while incubating them. The chicks are fed through regurgitation when they hatch. They fledge after about a month and can fly on their own at the age of fifty days.
Fun Fact: The eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus may kill horses and people, and the yellow-crowned night-heron is capable of carrying it.
How Frequently Herons Are Spotted In Utah In Summer And Winter
Knowing which birds are frequently seen in your state is helpful with checklists. Throughout the summer and winter of Utah, these records show which herons are most often sighted on eBird checklists.
Herons in Utah in summer:
Great Blue Heron 11.7%
Snowy Egret 5.9%
Black-crowned Night-Heron 4.1%
Great Egret 1.8%
Cattle Egret 1.1%
American Bittern 0.6%
Green Heron 0.1%
Tricolored Heron <0.1%
Little Blue Heron <0.1%
Least Bittern <0.1%
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron <0.1%
Herons in Utah in winter:
Great Blue Heron 9.3%
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1.3%
Great Egret 1.3%
American Bittern 0.1%
Green Heron 0.1%
Snowy Egret <0.1%
Cattle Egret <0.1%