WhenToBird

Megascops asio · Strigidae

When Do Eastern Screech-Owls Arrive in Florida?

Adult Eastern Screech-Owl
Photo: Justin Bull, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Eastern Screech-Owls reach Florida in late November, are common by the second week of December, peak in mid April (1.3% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.

When to look

First arrivalsNov 22-30late November
Common byDec 8-14the second week of December
PeakApr 15-21mid April
Most gone byOct 15-21mid October

Best: mid April. First arrivals late November; most are gone by mid October. Peak: on about 1.3% of Florida checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.7% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.4% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.4% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.4% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.4% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.5% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.6% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.7% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.9% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.8% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.0% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.1% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.1% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.4% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.3% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.1% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.9% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.6% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.5% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.4% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.6% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.6% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.6% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.7% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.6% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.6% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.7% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.5% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.6% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.5% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.4% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.3% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.4% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.3% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.5% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.9% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.6% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Union CountyBest early August · 12 checklists that week, 661 in all8.1%
  2. Calhoun CountyBest the second week of September · 10 checklists that week, 570 in all5.6%
  3. Dixie CountyBest mid August · 79 checklists that week, 2,113 in all4.8%
  4. Palm Beach CountyBest late March · 4018 checklists that week, 118,595 in all4.2%
  5. Hardee CountyBest late October · 27 checklists that week, 1,078 in all4.2%
  6. Liberty CountyBest late October · 17 checklists that week, 1,141 in all4.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Green Cay Nature Center and WetlandsPalm Beach County, best late March · 396 checklists that week, 9,241 in all34%
  2. Emerson Point PreserveManatee County, best mid June · 24 checklists that week, 2,368 in all29%
  3. Horseshoe CreekDuval County, best late December · 24 checklists that week, 187 in all29%
  4. Indian River Lagoon Preserve State ParkBrevard County, best late October · 25 checklists that week, 364 in all29%
  5. Hammock LakeMiami-Dade County, best late April · 128 checklists that week, 1,766 in all28%
  6. Mcgough Nature ParkPinellas County, best mid April · 111 checklists that week, 1,660 in all23%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Eastern Screech-Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.2% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 2.2% of 94591 checklists7 am: 0.8% of 296183 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 319987 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 254830 checklists10 am: 0.3% of 209480 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 1.2% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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%0.4%0.4%0.4%
February0.4%0.5%0.6%0.7%
March0.9%0.8%1.0%1.0%
April1.1%1.1%1.4%1.3%
May1.1%0.9%0.8%0.6%
June0.5%0.6%0.4%0.5%
July0.3%0.3%0.4%0.4%
August0.4%0.6%0.6%0.6%
September0.7%0.6%0.6%0.7%
October0.5%0.6%0.5%0.5%
November0.4%0.3%0.4%0.3%
December0.5%0.5%0.9%0.6%

Neighboring states

  • Louisiana: arrives late February, 12 weeks later than Florida
  • Tennessee: arrives the second week of July, 18 weeks earlier than Florida
  • Kentucky: arrives late June, 20 weeks earlier than Florida
  • Virginia: arrives mid June, 21 weeks earlier than Florida

Common questions

When do Eastern Screech-Owls arrive in Florida?
Eastern Screech-Owls reach Florida in late November, are common by the second week of December, peak in mid April (1.3% of checklists), and most are gone by mid October.
When do Eastern Screech-Owls leave Florida?
Most Eastern Screech-Owls have left Florida by mid October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early November.
When is the best time to see a Eastern Screech-Owl in Florida?
The Eastern Screech-Owl is reported most often in mid April, on about 1.3% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Eastern Screech-Owls seen most often?
By county, Union County, Calhoun County, and Dixie County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Eastern Screech-Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).