WhenToBird

Megascops asio · Strigidae

When Do Eastern Screech-Owls Arrive in New York?

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

Eastern Screech-Owls are winter birds in New York: they arrive in late July, peak in mid December (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 22-31late July
Common byJul 22-31late July
PeakDec 15-21mid December
Most gone byMay 8-14the second week of May

Best: mid December. First arrivals late July; most are gone by the second week of May. Peak: on about 1.2% of New York checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 0.9% of 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.8% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.6% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.8% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.9% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.7% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.6% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.7% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.6% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.6% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.5% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.5% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.3% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.3% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.3% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.2% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.2% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.2% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.2% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.2% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.5% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.6% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.7% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.9% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.0% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.0% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.7% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.6% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.5% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.6% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.5% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.6% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.6% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.6% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.5% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.8% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.7% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.0% of 62470 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 New York 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 New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Orleans CountyBest early February · 245 checklists that week, 16,706 in all11%
  2. Cayuga CountyBest mid September · 377 checklists that week, 20,184 in all5.3%
  3. Wyoming CountyBest early November · 146 checklists that week, 11,458 in all4.4%
  4. Yates CountyBest mid September · 203 checklists that week, 10,331 in all4.2%
  5. Chenango CountyBest mid December · 289 checklists that week, 10,785 in all3.8%
  6. Wayne CountyBest the second week of September · 718 checklists that week, 37,738 in all3.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Massapequa County PreserveNassau County, best the second week of January · 51 checklists that week, 1,112 in all44%
  2. Blue Heron ParkRichmond County, best mid February · 21 checklists that week, 459 in all34%
  3. Massapequa County Preserve (Massapequa Park)Nassau County, best early January · 28 checklists that week, 433 in all33%
  4. Clove Lakes ParkRichmond County, best the second week of March · 62 checklists that week, 3,301 in all30%
  5. Inwood Hill ParkNew York County, best the second week of April · 274 checklists that week, 10,120 in all28%
  6. Belmont Lake State ParkSuffolk County, best mid December · 27 checklists that week, 1,711 in all28%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Eastern Screech-Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (0.7% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 1.0% of 124869 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 298506 checklists8 am: 0.4% of 337334 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 307787 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 270801 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.5% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 0.8% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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
January0.9%0.8%0.6%0.8%
February0.9%0.7%0.6%0.7%
March0.7%0.6%0.6%0.5%
April0.4%0.5%0.5%0.4%
May0.3%0.3%0.3%0.2%
June0.1%0.2%0.2%0.2%
July0.2%0.2%0.2%0.3%
August0.5%0.5%0.6%0.7%
September0.9%1.0%1.0%0.8%
October0.7%0.6%0.5%0.6%
November0.5%0.6%0.6%0.6%
December0.5%0.8%1.7%1.0%

Neighboring states

  • New Jersey: arrives mid June, 5 weeks earlier than New York
  • Pennsylvania: arrives the second week of July, 2 weeks earlier than New York
  • Delaware: arrives mid July, 1 week earlier than New York
  • Massachusetts: arrives early August, 1 week later than New York

Common questions

When do Eastern Screech-Owls arrive in New York?
Eastern Screech-Owls are winter birds in New York: they arrive in late July, peak in mid December (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.
When do Eastern Screech-Owls leave New York?
Most Eastern Screech-Owls have left New York by the second week of May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Eastern Screech-Owl in New York?
The Eastern Screech-Owl is reported most often in mid December, on about 1.2% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Eastern Screech-Owls seen most often?
By county, Orleans County, Cayuga County, and Wyoming County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Eastern Screech-Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).