Guide

Look closerBirds

Green herons hide along shaded shores

May to September

The green heron is a small, crow-sized heron that is so good at hiding in cover that you often do not see it until it flushes. When it finally flushes, it lets out a loud skeow and often leaves a white streak behind, which earned it nicknames like chalk-line and fly-up-the-creek.

Why this time of year

Mass Audubon's atlas says green herons arrive in Massachusetts around the last week of April, have nestlings in June and July, and most leave from late September through the third week of October.

How to notice it

  1. Drift slowly along a shaded, tree-lined bank of a pond or slow river and scan low branches and logs right at the water for a small, dark, hunched heron.
  2. On an adult, look for orange-yellow legs, a chestnut neck, and black crown feathers; a young bird is duller and browner, with a striped neck.
  3. Watch how it hunts: it walks slowly or freezes with its body flattened, waiting for a fish or tadpole to come close.
  4. If it flies, listen for the sharp skeow and watch where it lands so you can drift by without flushing it again.

Try this with kids: Who can spot the heron first, before it spots us? Then whisper what color its legs are.

Safety

  • Massachusetts requires canoeists and kayakers to wear a life jacket from September 15 to May 15, and youth under 12 years of age must wear one; the state recommends wearing a life jacket every time you are on the water.

Sources

  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Breeding Bird Atlas 1 account (Green Heron): arrives in Massachusetts around the last week of April; when surprised flies off with a loud skeow call, leaving a white line of excrement, hence the nickname "Chalk Line"; raises crest and flicks tail when excited; nestling dates June and July; patient hunters standing motionless with body flattened; most depart late September through the third week of October; uncommon in most parts of the state. read 2026-11-10
  • massaudubon.orgMass Audubon Breeding Bird Atlas 2 account: "Widespread and likely increasing" but flagged "Action/monitoring needed"; feeds in swamps, ponds, rivers, lakes, estuaries; flushes suddenly from hiding with a loud squawk and a stream of white excrement; nicknames "skeow," "fly-up-the-creek," "chalk-line"; seen in more than 50% of the state in Atlas 2. read 2026-11-10
  • audubon.orgNational Audubon field guide: along quiet streams or shaded riverbanks a lone Green Heron may flush ahead of the observer; flicks its tail, raises and lowers its crest; small dark heron with orange-yellow legs and chestnut neck; about the size of a crow. read 2026-11-10
  • web.archive.orgMass.gov Massachusetts Boating Law Summary (Internet Archive copy dated 2025-12-17; mass.gov itself returns 403 to the fetch tool): "In Massachusetts, PFDs are required to be worn by: Youth under 12 years of age ... Canoeists/kayakers from September 15 - May 15". read 2026-11-10
  • web.archive.orgMassWildlife (DFW) Boating safety page (Internet Archive copy dated 2023-08-17): life jackets must be worn by canoeists and kayakers from September 15 - May 15 and youth under 12; "It is recommended that you wear a life jacket every time you are on the water." read 2026-11-10

Checked against these sources on November 10, 2026.

In the guide for May, June, July, August, September

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