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Nearby · Summit Co.
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
(c) Dan Roach, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Dan Roach · CC BY-NC 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)
BirdsIn Summit County, Ohio

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758

Great Blue Heron in all of Ohio
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Pelecaniformes
Family
Ardeidae
Genus
Ardea
Near Summit County

Range

Where it is recorded

Season shown in 1 of Ohio's 88 counties. Its mapped range covers 88. Explore Ohio

  • No result yet (0)
  • Within its mapped range (6)
  • Recorded, too few records for a result (49)
  • Recorded, season not shown (32)
  • Season shown (1)
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files, 1:500,000. Range: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Species Range Maps CONUS_2001 (2018). Show as a table
Counties as a table
Great Blue Heron by Ohio county: records and mapped range
CountyRecordsIn mapped range
Adams CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Allen CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Ashland County22 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Ashtabula County45 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Athens County22 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Auglaize CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Belmont CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Brown CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Butler County72 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Carroll CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: year-round
Champaign CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Clark County36 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Clermont County33 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Clinton CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Columbiana CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Coshocton CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Crawford CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Cuyahoga County558 · Season shownYes: year-round
Darke CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Defiance CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Delaware County72 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Erie County145 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Fairfield County22 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Fayette CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Franklin County482 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Fulton CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Gallia CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Geauga County50 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Greene County149 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Guernsey CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Hamilton County188 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Hancock County24 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Hardin CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Harrison CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Henry CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Highland CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Hocking County34 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Holmes CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Huron CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Jackson CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: year-round
Jefferson CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Knox CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Lake County169 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Lawrence CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Licking County26 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Logan CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Lorain County212 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Lucas County176 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Madison CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Mahoning County37 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Marion CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Medina County81 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Meigs CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Mercer CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Miami CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Monroe CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Montgomery County91 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Morgan CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Morrow CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Muskingum CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Noble CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: year-round
Ottawa County150 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Paulding CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: year-round
Perry CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Pickaway CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Pike CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: year-round
Portage County117 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Preble County25 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Putnam CountyNo qualifying records yetYes: year-round
Richland County45 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Ross CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Sandusky CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Scioto CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Seneca CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Shelby CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Stark County119 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Summit County1,539 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Trumbull County31 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Tuscarawas CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Union CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Van Wert CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Vinton CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Warren County88 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Washington CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Wayne County80 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round
Williams CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Wood CountyRecorded, too few records for a resultYes: year-round
Wyandot County28 · Recorded, season not shownYes: year-round

Season

When it is recorded

In Summit County

Recorded all year

Recorded through most of the year, so there is no single season to show. Based on 1,539 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, above the minimum of 20 records from 5 different years.
Show over the bars
Recording in Summit County · records of all species each week, 106,876 in all

Records per week from 1,539 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not a season or how common it is.

Show as a table
Records of Great Blue Heron in Summit County each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of Great Blue HeronYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–10158711
Jan 11–17198665
Jan 18–24177601
Jan 25–31207526
Feb 1–797608
Feb 8–1485619
Feb 15–21195629
Feb 22–28289748
Mar 1–7458728
Mar 8–14249852
Mar 15–214791,055
Mar 22–2857101,007
Mar 29 – Apr 430101,005
Apr 5–111981,654
Apr 12–183982,454
Apr 19–253282,699
Apr 26 – May 24893,970
May 3–97593,569
May 10–167294,053
May 17–2355103,509
May 24–303894,045
May 31 – Jun 640102,874
Jun 7–135083,158
Jun 14–2054103,796
Jun 21–2739103,501
Jun 28 – Jul 44093,968
Jul 5–1131103,632
Jul 12–182194,051
Jul 19–252373,855
Jul 26 – Aug 13292,908
Aug 2–83073,828
Aug 9–1545103,583
Aug 16–223593,535
Aug 23–2942102,939
Aug 30 – Sep 53892,840
Sep 6–123092,758
Sep 13–191142,761
Sep 20–262582,646
Sep 27 – Oct 32192,089
Oct 4–101882,317
Oct 11–172181,944
Oct 18–241981,314
Oct 25–3127101,272
Nov 1–7146786
Nov 8–14148761
Nov 15–21167654
Nov 22–28176703
Nov 29 – Dec 595503
Dec 6–12155447
Dec 13–1985496
Dec 20–26166522
Dec 27 – Jan 2227728

In Ohio

Early March to late November, middle week Jun 28 – Jul 4

Show over the bars
Recording in Ohio · records of all species each week, 1,691,199 in all

Records per week from 7,687 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not how common it is. The grey bars show how many records of all species were made here each week, so you can see when recording itself was high or low; the season is not adjusted by them.

Recorded on 2,392 dates. Latest record: December 2025.

Show as a table
Records of Great Blue Heron in Ohio each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of Great Blue HeronYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–105296,211
Jan 11–1757105,146
Jan 18–2450104,645
Jan 25–314484,698
Feb 1–74696,023
Feb 8–142995,888
Feb 15–213995,436
Feb 22–2859106,846
Mar 1–78288,321
Mar 8–1456910,384
Mar 15–211001012,620
Mar 22–281271013,949
Mar 29 – Apr 41291019,661
Apr 5–111651026,860
Apr 12–181841039,925
Apr 19–251961041,623
Apr 26 – May 22911056,391
May 3–93341052,952
May 10–163191053,785
May 17–232861057,698
May 24–302431054,651
May 31 – Jun 62371053,099
Jun 7–132201053,700
Jun 14–202171056,625
Jun 21–271861055,361
Jun 28 – Jul 42101058,477
Jul 5–112091061,336
Jul 12–181931064,722
Jul 19–252101069,753
Jul 26 – Aug 12191059,416
Aug 2–82061059,712
Aug 9–151741055,994
Aug 16–221971054,328
Aug 23–292031051,772
Aug 30 – Sep 52301057,167
Sep 6–122221059,075
Sep 13–192051054,543
Sep 20–26200945,860
Sep 27 – Oct 3168943,180
Oct 4–101511037,841
Oct 11–171671030,824
Oct 18–24126921,156
Oct 25–311021019,021
Nov 1–7901014,172
Nov 8–14761012,621
Nov 15–216497,965
Nov 22–2864108,136
Nov 29 – Dec 55396,083
Dec 6–125496,004
Dec 13–194195,423
Dec 20–264595,661
Dec 27 – Jan 260108,459

What these results show

These results show when people recorded a species, not when or where it occurs. Missing weeks and low counts do not mean absence or scarcity, and counts are not abundance. Contributed records reflect where, when and what people chose to observe.

Relatives

In the same genus

Other Ardea recorded in Summit County

Great EgretArdea alba

Identification

How to identify it

Often confused with

  • Great Egret Ardea albaOften confused in Ohio: 12 identifications in Ohio named one where the other was meant
  • Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea438 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Yellow-crowned Night Heron Nyctanassa violacea372 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax267 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant

From iNaturalist’s similar-species counts, refreshed monthly: confusions in Ohio first, then worldwide. Only species with an Ohio result are listed.

Land cover where it is recorded

Land coverIts recordsAll Ohio records
Developed43%49%
Forest17%31%
Open water17%3%
Wetland14%5%
Farmland5%11%
Grassland and shrub3%0.9%
Barren0.9%0.6%

From 2,814 records placed within 100 m, beside all Ohio records placed the same way. People record where they go, so this shows where records come from, not where the species lives. Land cover: USGS Annual NLCD, 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Finer identifications

Some Ohio records of this species were identified to a subspecies:

  • Ardea herodias herodiasNortheastern Great Blue Heronsubspecies

A few other records were identified to other subspecies.

Every one of these records counts toward the Great Blue Heron's season above.

Why some records go further than species

Many species vary from place to place. Groups of a species that look or sound a little different, and live in different areas, can be named as subspecies. Observers and experts only identify a record that far when it shows enough detail to tell them apart. Records without that detail count at the species level.

Names: Catalogue of Life.

Sources

Where these results come from

  • Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations and expert-identified GBIF datasets, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC. Sources
  • Seasons use the published method and its evidence thresholds. Methods
  • See it on iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)OpenPhenology is independent and not affiliated with iNaturalist.

Records behind the Ohio result

7,687 records from 2 datasets.

To cite: the GBIF download doi:10.15468/dl.y2jkt8 (opens in a new tab).

A spreadsheet (CSV) with a link to each record, on iNaturalist or GBIF. Records whose location was hidden by the observer or the source are counted but not linked.