In North Carolina, 12 of the 17 species of herons that exist in North America have been seen. There’s also a 1 that’s uncommon or unintentional. This guide will assist you in identifying and understanding the characteristics of these long-legged birds.
Herons, which can be found in 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 unless you want to risk a net, your best bet is a net.
Herons prefer to hunt alone, standing perfectly still and waiting for prey or dashing about to stir up the prey. Heronries are large colonies where herons nest.
A flock of herons is known by a variety of names, including “rookery,” “battery,” “hedge,” and even such terms as “siege” and “pose.”
You might want to learn more about the ducks, swans, or pelicans that you may see in North Carolina if you enjoy discovering waterbirds.
13 Species Of Heron In North Carolina
1. Great Blue Heron
North Carolina is home to a large number of Great Blue Herons, which are seen throughout the year. They are seen on 15% of summer checklists and 17% of winter checklists submitted by birdwatchers for the state.
The biggest heron native to North America, Great Blue Herons are huge, magnificent birds.
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 is the color of their bills.
Grayish-blue bodies with long gray legs, they have lengthy gray necks 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 have Great Blue Herons throughout the year, but those that breed in the Mid-West and Canada migrate south during winter.
In Florida, the Great White Heron is a white morph subspecies of the Great Blue Heron.
Great Blue Herons may be seen in a variety of wetlands. Fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded marshes, lake edges, and shorelines are all possible habitats for them.
Fish, frogs, salamanders, shrimps, crabs, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and other aquatic insects are the primary foods of Great Blue Herons.
When wading or standing in water, they capture their prey. Hovering above water, diving into it, leaping from perches, and floating on the surface are among their other abilities.
Great Blue Heron colonies may be found near water, high up in trees. Twigs and sticks are used to construct the nests, which are lined with softer material.
Great Blue Herons may develop and expand their nests over time, as they reuse them.
The female then deposits two to seven eggs. For nearly four weeks, both parents incubate the eggs at the same time.
Fun Fact: With their heads thrown back, Great Blue Herons defend their feeding area with spectacular wing-outstretched displays.
2. Great Egret
In North Carolina, Great Egrets are most seen during breeding season, although some may remain all year along the shore. Summer checklists include them in 7% of the lists, and winter checklists include them in 4%.
Males have neon green facial skin and long, wispy feathers (aigrettes) protruding from their backs to their tails during courting, just like a peacock fluffs out his tail. Great Egrets are at their best during the breeding season.
They’re enormous, omnivorous herons that are sometimes known as Great White Herons. Common egrets are another name for them. These big birds have long, black legs and feet with dagger-like, long, bright yellow beaks.
Males, females, and juveniles of non-breeding age all 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 Great Egret’s global range is enormous. Those in the southern and coastal United States stay year-round, although those farther inland move south in Canada.
Great Egrets may be seen in freshwater and saltwater marshes, as well as fish ponds, but they are also found in fish ponds.
Fish, frogs, small mammals, crustaceans, and insects make up the majority of Great Egret’s diet. You might witness Great Egrets stalk their prey on the water, waiting and scouting it before striking and spearing it with their long bills.
Great Egret colonies have nests. To keep the nests safe from predators like raccoons, they are usually placed high up in trees, preferably on islands.
Sticks, twigs, and marsh plant stems are used to make them. The females lay six eggs, which are incubated for around twenty-five days by both parents.
Fun Fact: Because of their long white feathers (aigrettes), the Great Egret was almost hunted to extinction.
3. Green Heron
From April to October, Green Herons are found in 7% of summer checklists in North Carolina during the breeding season.
The glossy green-black color of the crowns, crests, backs, and wings of Green Herons makes them appear hunched and dark from a distance, but you need to get closer to appreciate this.
During the breeding season, their bills change color from two-toned to black. They have a dark top and yellow bottom. Their irises and legs also change color, from yellow to orange.
Chestnut or maroon skin covers their heads, necks, and breasts. A white stripe runs down the top length of their neck, from front to back. Their bellies are a gray color.
Browner and with a crest, juveniles are darker.
- Butorides virescens
- Length: 18 – 22 in (46 – 56 cm)
- Weight: 9.17 oz (260 g)
- Wingspan: 25 – 26 in (64 – 66 cm)
Before heading south, green herons breed mostly in the eastern United States and the Pacific Coast. Those, on the other hand, are permanent throughout the Gulf Coast, Caribbean, and Mexico.
Green Herons may be found in marshy, grassy areas with deep vegetation such as swamps, marshes, ponds, and lakes. If there are water sources nearby, they may stay in dry woods or orchards instead of coastal and inland wetlands.
Little fish, insects, spiders, crustaceans, snails, amphibians, reptiles, and rodents make up the Green Heron’s diet. Instead of wading, they usually hunt from shore by perched on sticks over the water.
Green Heron nests are built in the treetops over water, but some may leave them on the ground, hidden beneath vegetation. They are made of long, thin twigs.
Females lay two to six eggs every two days, in 2-day intervals. The last egg is laid, and both parents begin incubation, which takes around twenty days. When their babies emerge, they both eat them.
Fun Facts: Bait, such as bread, feathers, twigs, and leaves, are used by green herons for foraging. This is one of the few bird species that does so. (Davis and Kushlan, 1994)
4. Snowy Egret
During the breeding season, snowy egrets are most frequently seen along North Carolina’s coast, although they may be seen at any time of year. Summer checklists have a 3% chance of containing them, whereas winter checklists have a 1% chance.
Little, all-white herons known as snowy egrets. Their irises are yellow, and their skin around their eye is long, black bills are long, black legs with bright yellow feet.
Long, lacy feathers grow on their heads, shoulders, and backs during the breeding season. During courting, their lores or cheeks turn reddish-pink, and their toes turn orange-red.
Interestingly, during aggressive encounters, these parts of their bodies become bright red.
Adults have head plumes, whereas juveniles do not. Lores and legs are more greenish-yellow, and their bills and legs are lighter in color.
- 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 the southwest coast, snowy egrets migrate from all 50 states. Throughout Central and South America, they last throughout the year.
Snowy Egrets may be found in marshes, riverbanks, lakesides, pools, salt marshes, and estuaries throughout shallow and damp habitat. They like marsh environments with coverted trees and plants for breeding.
Fish, crustaceans, snails, frogs, and crayfish are all sought after by snowy egrets in shallow water. They might stay still and wait for prey to come to them, or they might stir the water to bring their meal to the surface. This would make it easier for them to capture.
The males choose the nests of Snowy Egrets. They choose a place and put on a full show to entice their mates. The males continue to offer sticks, sedges, or reeds while the ladies create the nest when they couple up.
Nests are usually found on the ground, hidden among shrubs. Both parents take turns incubating their eggs after the female lays two to six eggs. The average incubation period is twenty-four days.
Fun Fact: Because of their lovely white head feathers, which were ideal embellishment or accessories for ladies’ hats, snowy Egrets were practically hunted to extinction.
5. Tricolored Heron
During the breeding season, Tricolored Herons are mostly seen along North Carolina’s coast, although some remain on the southern coast all year. Summer checklists contain them at a rate of 2%, whereas winter checklists contain them at 1%.
The white belly and neck stripe of a Tricolored Heron distinguishes it from other herons.
Blue-gray, purple, and white feathers can be found on non-breeding adults. Their bills have a black tip and are yellowish or greyish. Their legs and feet are yellow or olive green in color.
The base of the bill becomes blue, and adults have thin white feathers extending from the back of their heads. Their necks and backs are also covered in finer feathers. Their legs, too, turn a reddish hue.
The neck, upper breasts, upper back, and wings of juveniles are more reddish-brown in color.
- Egretta tricolor
- Length: 24 – 26 in (61 – 66 cm)
- Weight: 14.6 oz (414 g)
- Wingspan: 36 in (91 cm)
The Gulf Coast, Mexico, and northern South America are home to Tricolored Herons all year. Those that breed farther north migrate south as far as the Atlantic Coast is concerned.
Freshwater and brackish marshes, estuaries, and coastal tidal pools or swamps are all good places to see Tricolored Herons.
Tricolored Herons are aggressive of their food sources and feed singly. Other wading birds that wish to eat little fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects will be chased away from their area by these.
Watch for them to stalk, chase, stand, and wait for their victim. Before striking, they crouch low in the water, with their bellies and necks pointing toward the surface.
Tricolored Heron nests are made of sticks and are placed in trees and shrubs in colonies. The female lays three to five eggs, which are shared by both parents throughout the incubation period of three weeks. Both of them provide milk to the infants.
Fun Fact: The only dark-colored heron with a white belly, the Tricolored Heron was formerly known as the Louisiana Heron.
6. Little Blue Heron
Little Blue Herons are mostly visible in North Carolina throughout the summer and migration, despite a few sightings throughout the year. Summer checklists have 2% of the items, while migration checklists have 6%.
Little Blue Herons, despite their small size, They have lengthy, stretched bodies that are medium to large in size. With dangling feathers across the nape, their heads and necks have a purplish hue.
During the breeding season, their eyes can turn gray-green and are light yellow in color. Two-toned – pale blue or grayish with black tips – their long, dagger-like bills are two-toned. Slate-blue is their color scheme. They have long, black to gray-green legs.
Before becoming a combination of dark gray, blue, and white, juvenile Little Blue Herons are totally white during their first year of life.
- Egretta caerulea
- Length: 24 – 29 in (61 – 74 cm)
- Weight: 16.22 oz (460 g)
- Wingspan: 40 – 41 in (102 – 104 cm)
Before moving south, Little Blue Herons breed in the eastern United States, but those on the Gulf Coast and Mexico spend the whole year in South America.
Watery habitats, such as marshes, bogs, ponds, streams, lagoons, tidal flats, canals, ditches, fish hatcheries, and flooded fields are all good places to look for Little Blue Herons.
In comparison to other herons, Little Blue Herons forage in a more elegant manner. They simply stand and wait in shallow waters for their prey instead of dashing about across the water.
Little Blue Herons eat fish, reptiles, snakes, turtles, spiders, crabs, rats, and flies. Adolescents prefer to stick with mixed groups, but adults prefer to forage alone.
Little Blue Heron nests are constructed of sticks and are found in colonies with other herons. Up to six eggs are laid by the female. For up to twenty-four days, both parents share in the incubation.
Fun Fact: Juvenile Little Blue Herons’ white coloring allows them to hunt more fish and gain additional protection from predators, which is why they may be found among Snowy Egrets.
7. Black-crowned Night-Heron
During the breeding season, black-crowned night-herons may be observed along the coast of North Carolina, and during migration in Durham and Raleigh, a few may be found at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge.
The typical description of the heron family does not apply to black-crowned Night-Herons, or simply Night Herons. It has a shorter bill, neck, and legs than most other geese.
The black caps of adult Black-crowned Night-herons extend from a white line above the black bills.
The lores (in front of the eye, towards the bill) are green-blue, and their eyes are red. They’re lighter on the back than they are on the bottom. Their feet and legs are yellow in color.
The head and back transform to a glossy blue-green during the breeding season, with two or three white feathers appearing on the crown. The legs and feet become red or pink, while the lores also turn black.
The overall color of juveniles is dull grayish-brown with streaks and markings.
- 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 nightherons stretches across the globe. Before moving south, they breed in the United States and Canada. Throughout the coasts, some remain year-round.
Wetland habitats such as shallow freshwater or brackish rivers are home to Black-crowned Night-herons. Artificial habitats such as reservoirs, canals, and fish ponds are also used to house them.
Night-feeders, such as black-crowned nightherons, feed on crayfish and fish and even turtles or worms when they can find them.
In preparation for selecting their partners, male Black-crowned Night-herons build nests in bushes or trees, which are initiated by the males.
The female will then lay two-day intervals of up to seven eggs. For approximately twenty-four days, both parents begin to incubate the eggs that were placed. For roughly three weeks, the parents will look after their infants.
Fun Fact: For more than a century, a colony of Black-crowned Night-herons has spent their summers at the National Zoo in Washington, DC.
8. Cattle Egret
Cattle Egrets breed throughout eastern North Carolina during the breeding season, although a few may be seen throughout the year in the northeast and a few may be seen around Charlotte at migration.
Cattle Egrets utilize a cunning method of capturing their meal: they stand on the backs of cattle and capture the startled prey when the cattle shift and create noise.
Cattle Egrets have white bodies and light orange-brown patterns on their heads, necks, and backs. They are tiny, short-necked egrets.
They have yellow irises and facial skin. They have greenish-black legs and small yellow bills. Males and females have a lot in common.
During the breeding season, Cattle Egrets change color and become more vivid, especially on their legs and face.
Their light orange patches darken during the breeding season. At the height of their courting, their bills, legs, and irises turn bright red, while their facial skin (lores) turns pinkish-red.
- Bubulcus ibis
- Length: 19 – 21 in (48 – 53 cm)
- Weight: 17.98 oz (510 g)
- Wingspan: 36 – 38 in (91 – 97 cm)
Cattle Egrets may be found all year in the south of Mexico, the Gulf Coast, and southwestern US states, but their range is quite extensive throughout the world.
Nonetheless, after breeding, those who breed farther north, primarily in the eastern United States.
Cattle Egrets may be found in grasslands, pastures, agricultural fields, and rice paddies where hoofed animals are present, particularly.
They do venture into the edges of aquatic habitats, 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 also good places to look for them.
Insects, mostly grasshoppers, crickets, flies, beetles, and moths make up the majority of Cattle Egrets’ diet. Spiders, frogs, small snakes, lizards, earthworms, and fish are also among the foods they consume.
Cattle Egret nests are usually created in woodlands near lakes or rivers, in marshes, or on tiny islands. They’re made of sticks and reeds and are usually formed in colonies.
Cattle Egret nests are usually built in colonies in woodlands near lakes or rivers, on marshes, or on tiny islands. They are made with sticks and reeds.
The female may lay up to nine eggs, which take around twenty-five days to hatch. The juvenile takes around 45 days to develop, fledge, and become completely self-sufficient from their parents.
Fun Fact: Rather than correcting for light refraction when feeding in water, the Cattle Egret’s eyes have evolved to forage on land by having binocular vision.
9. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
From April through September, yellow-crowned night-herons are most frequent in North Carolina, with 1% of checklists seeing them at this time.
Yellow crowns with two plumes protruding from their heads characterize adult Yellow-crowned Night Herons. Their black bills are seen to be quite large. Their heads are black above and below their eyes, with a little white patch on the sides.
As they grew up, their eyes turned from yellow to orange to red.
Their wings have a scaled pattern, and their bodies are gray-blue. During the breeding season, their legs turn coral, pink, or red and are long and yellow.
Grayish-brown juveniles have white streaks and blemishes all over. 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 migrating south, yellow-crowned night-herons breed primarily in southern states. Throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern South America, they are found all year.
In coastal places with a lot of crustaceans, shallow waters, and large 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’ diet. Fish, insects, worms, mollusks, lizards, snakes, rats, and birds are also among the animals they consume. Little prey may be devoured immediately by them.
Crabs are often stabbed or dismembered throughout their bodies.
Yellow-crowned Night-herons usually nest in small, loose colonies, but they always nest near water. Both parents build the nests using grass, leaves, or moss-covered twigs and branches.
After that, they lay up to eight eggs, which they share in a three-week incubation period. The chicks are fed by regurgitation when they hatch. They fledge in around a month and are able to fly on their own at fifty days old.
Fun Fact: The eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus, which can kill horses and people, is carried by the Yellow-crowned Night-heron.
10. American Bittern
While migrating and winter along the coast, American Bitterns are reasonably uncommon in North Carolina.
In the spring of the American Bittern, you may hear their peculiar watery boom cries long before you see them, if you’re lucky. Here are a few samples:
The Heron family includes American Bitterns, which are robust, medium-sized birds.
Because of their brown striped and mottled patterning, as well as their capacity to remain motionless amid the reeds with their head tilted up, they resemble reeds.
They have short legs and yellow eyes that change to orange during courtship.
- 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 US states.
Shallow freshwater marshes and wetlands with tall reeds are almost entirely home to American Bitterns.
Find them among the coarse vegetation on the edges of lakes and ponds by training your eyes on them.
Fish, crustaceans, insects, amphibians, and small mammals make up the diet of American Bitterns. They forage quietly amid the reeds, waiting for their victim to come nearer before leapeding forward quickly to seize them in their bills. They wait motionless and silent until they can pounce on them.
On the water, among coarse vegetation, you may find American Bittern nests. Females select a location for the nest, which they construct themselves with available reeds, sedges, cattails, and other plants.
They produce around twenty-six days of eggs, which are incubated. Females feed the chicks straight into their beaks when they are born. They fled the nest two weeks after arriving, and it takes six to seven weeks for them to be fully developed.
Fun Fact: Like the reeds that conceal them, American Bitterns point upwards and sway gently from side to side.
11. Least Bittern
During the breeding season, least bitterns, particularly around June and July, may be seen along the coast of North Carolina. While some are migrating across the state.
The smallest herons in the Americas, least bitterns are difficult to detect amid the reeds, but they may be heard first.
With a black head and yellow beak, they are brown and white hues. They grip the reeds with their long toes and claws.
Females and youngsters have lighter backs and crowns than males.
- Ixobrychus exilis
- Length: 11 – 14 in (28 – 36 cm)
- Weight: 3 oz (85 g)
- Wingspan: 16 – 18 in (41 – 46 cm)
Little Bitterns are found across Europe and Africa, but they may also be seen in North America on rare occasions.
Least Bitterns may be found in thick freshwater and brackish marsh environments, with plenty of tall cattails and reeds. Search for them perched on reeds.
They will immediately freeze, raise their bills to the sky, and sway in time with the reeds when they sense danger.
Little fish, frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, slugs, dragonflies, aquatic bugs, and occasionally mice are among the foods of the Least Bitterns. They squat on the reeds, doing acrobatic contortions in order to reach their meals on the water’s surface.
The female of the Least Bitterns builds well-concealed nests from cattails and marsh vegetation, which are well-concealed. Both parents incubate the eggs for around twenty days after they lay up to seven. They then regurgitate food to feed newly-hatched chicks.
Fun Fact: Long necks and a hunchbacked posture characterize the Least Bittern.
12. Reddish Egret
In North Carolina, Reddish Egrets are a near-threatened species, although they may be seen all year along the coast.
This is one of the greatest birds to observe because of Reddish Egrets’ dark pink and grayish-blue hues, as well as their frantic chasing after prey.
These birds are actually dark and light morphs, with white morphs being uncommon, despite their name of Reddish Egrets.
Blue-gray bodies and cinnamon-toned heads, necks, and breasts distinguish dark morph Reddish Egrets. With a black tip, their bills are pink.
The bodies of white morphs are totally white. Their eyes are straw yellow, and their skin (lores) is darker around their legs and feet. Their eyes are blue-black, however.
Adults will mate with either morph, and juveniles are also dark or white.
- Egretta rufescens
- Length: 27 – 32 in (69 – 81 cm)
- Weight: 15.9 oz (451 g)
- Wingspan: 46 in (117 cm)
The Gulf Coast, East Coast, and Mexico through northern South America are home to Reddish Egrets all year.
Reddish Egrets may be seen on open water flats and beaches. Marshes, shallow bays, and lagoons are also home to them.
Reddish Egrets generally eat by themselves. In the hopes of catching fish, they cross shallow, flooded flats. They stabbed fish with their beaks as soon as they were successful in frightening them up.
Reddish Egret nests, which are usually found in colonies, are typically constructed by both parents. Protected islands with nearby feeding areas are the most common habitats.
Reddish Egret nests are typically found in groups and constructed of sticks by both parents. They’re most often seen on islands with rich fishing grounds.
Both parents incubate the female’s eggs, which she lays up to seven of. They’ll feed their offspring for up to nine weeks after they’ve abandoned the nest, even if they’re away.
Fun Fact: The male will do a head toss display and beak snapping during mating, when his feathers puff out and stand out on his head, neck, and back.
13. Little Egret
In North Carolina, Little Egrets are an accidental species. They are just seen around Lake Mattamuskeet in 2016, and they are extremely uncommon in the state.
All-white bodies are seen in Little Egrets. Long, thin necks, black bills, yellow eyes, yellow lores (lips), long black legs, and yellow feet are all characteristics of this species.
Wispy feathers on the backs of Little Egrets’ heads, lower throats, and backs are visible during the breeding season. At the peak of courtship, their face skin becomes red, and their feet become pink or red.
Dark morphs with a blue-gray tint rather than white are also available.
Juveniles have greenish-black legs and duller yellow feet, and they look the same as adults but are more grayish/brownish.
- Egretta garzetta
- Length: 22 – 26 in (56 – 66 cm)
- Weight: 17.6 oz (499 g)
- Wingspan: 34 – 41 in (86 – 104 cm)
Little Egrets are accepted as casual visitors to the United States and Canada, but their natural range is Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Little Egrets may be found hunting in fish ponds as well as around wetland habitats such as lakeshores, riverbanks, ponds, lagoons, marshes, and canals.
Little Egrets either wait for fish to arrive or disturb the water to scare them away as their primary food.
Little Egret nests are often constructed high up in the trees or shrubs, on reed beds or mangroves, and are made of platform sticks. The material for building is usually found by males, and the construction is done by females.
The female may lay up to six eggs, which are incubated by both parents for around three weeks. For almost two weeks, both parents are responsible for the child. After six weeks, they fledged.
Fun Fact: Because of the fashion trend at the time, overhunting of Little Egrets resulted in their extinction in Ireland and Great Britain.
How Frequently Herons Are Spotted In North Carolina In Summer And Winter
Checklists can help you determine which birds are most often seen in your region. In North Carolina, in the summer and winter, these lists show which herons are most often seen on ebird checklists.
Herons in North Carolina in summer:
Great Blue Heron 15.3%
Great Egret 7.9%
Green Heron 7.8%
Snowy Egret 3.3%
Tricolored Heron 2.5%
Little Blue Heron 2.1%
Cattle Egret 0.6%
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 0.6%
Black-crowned Night-Heron 0.5%
Least Bittern 0.3%
Reddish Egret 0.1%
American Bittern 0.1%
Little Egret <0.1%
Herons in North Carolina in winter:
Great Blue Heron 17.6%
Great Egret 4.4%
Snowy Egret 1.5%
Tricolored Heron 1.4%
Black-crowned Night-Heron 0.9%
Little Blue Heron 0.6%
American Bittern 0.4%
Cattle Egret 0.1%
Green Heron 0.1%
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron <0.1%
Least Bittern <0.1%
Reddish Egret <0.1%