Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

Green Heron [lateral view of stalking adult]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee; 23 April 2012.

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Abundance: Fairly Common during spring, summer, and fall; Rare (often absent) during winter; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the Regional breeding population is probably stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Summer Resident; Visitor during winter (4 records); specimen (8 June 1938; Rocky Branch, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph [ventral view of immature] (Carol D. Williams; western Putnam County, Tennessee; 15 September 2001); photograph [lateral view of close-up of adult head] (Stephen J. Stedman; Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee; 23 April 2012).

Regional High Count: 36 (8 August 1990; Putnam County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman); FBC/FBB High Count: 21 (19 September 2009; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 20 (10 May 2008; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); CBC High Count: 1 (2 records; see Out-of-Season (Winter) Records [below]).

Out-of-Season (Winter) Records:

26 December 1977 (1) Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (observer[s] unknown), a CBC record.

18 & 28 February, 10 March 1990 (1) City Lake Natural Area, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Barbara H. Stedman; Stedman and Stedman 1991), a Winter Bird Population Study record [first date only].

13 & 18 December 1992 (1) Hidden Cove Rd., Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Barbara H. Stedman), a CBC (count week) record on latter date.

31 December 2011 (1) Pulaski County, Kentucky (Scott Marsh, Rhonda Bryant), a CBC record.

20 December 2014 (1) White County, Tennessee (D. A. Downs et al.), a CBC record.

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: x (

    Late Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually widespread by 10 April; fall departure variable but usually largely complete by 10 October.  Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 2002–2011 follow:

* See also Out-of-Season (Winter) Record (above).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent). 

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 8 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 33 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to YardWatch frequency classifications of Very Uncommon and Uncommon, respectively; neither of these YardWatch frequency  classifications is consistent with the overall Regional abundance classification.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: x

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited