WhenToBird

Tyto furcata · Tytonidae

When Do American Barn Owls Arrive in California?

Adult American Barn Owl
Photo: Brooke J., CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The American Barn Owl is in California all year. It turns up on about 1.2% of checklists at its peak (mid September) and on 0.6% in its quietest week (the second week of February).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 15-21mid September
Quietest weekFeb 8-14the second week of February

Best: mid September. Here all year. Peak: on about 1.2% of California checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.7% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.7% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.7% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.7% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.7% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.6% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.6% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.7% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.7% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.7% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.7% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.7% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.7% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.8% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.8% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.7% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.8% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.8% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.8% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.8% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.9% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.8% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.9% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.9% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.9% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.0% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.0% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.0% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.1% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.2% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.1% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.1% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.2% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.0% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.9% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.8% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.7% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.7% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.7% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.7% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.7% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.6% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.9% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.7% of 124993 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in California that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

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Where in California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Merced CountyBest the second week of September · 171 checklists that week, 13,095 in all11%
  2. Kings CountyBest late May · 99 checklists that week, 3,688 in all6.0%
  3. San Benito CountyBest early July · 315 checklists that week, 25,997 in all5.9%
  4. Marin CountyBest mid September · 3614 checklists that week, 135,728 in all4.9%
  5. Lake CountyBest the second week of November · 232 checklists that week, 12,989 in all3.8%
  6. Sutter CountyBest mid October · 70 checklists that week, 4,996 in all3.7%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Damon-Garcia Sports ComplexSan Luis Obispo County, best late April · 26 checklists that week, 188 in all61%
  2. Domengine SpringMerced County, best the second week of September · 23 checklists that week, 324 in all60%
  3. Point Reyes National Seashore (north)Marin County, best mid August · 34 checklists that week, 1,328 in all52%
  4. Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife RefugeSanta Clara County, best early May · 27 checklists that week, 1,104 in all50%
  5. San Luis Rey River TrailSan Diego County, best late March · 23 checklists that week, 983 in all45%
  6. Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (Salt Pond A20)Santa Clara County, best early May · 22 checklists that week, 788 in all44%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In California, the American Barn Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (1.1% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (1688) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1402) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1743) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4647) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32158) to judge6 am: 1.3% of 186053 checklists7 am: 0.9% of 444086 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 535846 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 486061 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 411130 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 1.4% of 96867 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (50942) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (14803) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5561) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (3546) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (2092) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0.7%0.7%0.7%0.7%
February0.7%0.6%0.6%0.7%
March0.7%0.7%0.7%0.7%
April0.7%0.7%0.7%0.8%
May0.8%0.7%0.8%0.8%
June0.8%0.8%0.8%0.9%
July0.8%0.9%0.9%0.9%
August1.0%1.0%1.0%1.1%
September1.2%1.1%1.1%1.2%
October1.0%0.9%0.8%0.7%
November0.7%0.7%0.7%0.7%
December0.7%0.6%0.9%0.7%

Common questions

When do American Barn Owls arrive in California?
The American Barn Owl is in California all year. It turns up on about 1.2% of checklists at its peak (mid September) and on 0.6% in its quietest week (the second week of February).
When do American Barn Owls leave California?
The American Barn Owl does not leave California: it is reported all year, from 0.6% of checklists in the second week of February to 1.2% in mid September.
When is the best time to see a American Barn Owl in California?
The American Barn Owl is reported most often in mid September, on about 1.2% of California checklists.
Where in California are American Barn Owls seen most often?
By county, Merced County, Kings County, and San Benito County have the highest peak reporting rates for the American Barn Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).