WhenToBird

Megascops asio · Strigidae

When Do Eastern Screech-Owls Arrive in Texas?

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

Eastern Screech-Owls are winter birds in Texas: the first arrive in early July, they are common by mid July, peak in mid March (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late May.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 1-7early July
Common byJul 15-21mid July
PeakMar 15-21mid March
Most gone byMay 22-31late May

Best: mid March. First arrivals early July; most are gone by late May. Peak: on about 1.5% of Texas checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 1.0% of 66038 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.9% of 52445 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.8% of 52985 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.0% of 71020 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.0% of 52306 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.9% of 55887 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.9% of 69016 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.1% of 52998 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.3% of 50836 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.7% of 51749 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.5% of 53731 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.4% of 82049 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.1% of 65854 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.0% of 78434 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.0% of 92302 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.0% of 122878 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.0% of 74592 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.1% of 61008 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.2% of 43365 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.7% of 52736 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.6% of 31643 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.5% of 30131 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.4% of 26802 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 32822 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.6% of 27213 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.6% of 24555 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.7% of 24146 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.8% of 34536 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.8% of 25764 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.8% of 26347 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.7% of 28431 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.9% of 42838 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.8% of 35070 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.7% of 33893 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 32572 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 43771 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.9% of 34143 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.9% of 37563 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.8% of 36263 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.8% of 49170 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.9% of 43301 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.1% of 48744 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.9% of 42213 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.7% of 54455 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.8% of 40166 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.8% of 41035 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.1% of 46983 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.0% of 73015 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 Texas 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 Texas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sabine CountyBest the second week of May · 65 checklists that week, 1,870 in all24%
  2. Dickens CountyBest mid October · 13 checklists that week, 481 in all20%
  3. Knox CountyBest late July · 17 checklists that week, 533 in all17%
  4. Karnes CountyBest late January · 51 checklists that week, 1,746 in all16%
  5. San Augustine CountyBest the second week of December · 10 checklists that week, 745 in all15%
  6. Jim Hogg CountyBest early August · 11 checklists that week, 1,125 in all12%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Russ Pitman ParkHarris County, best mid May · 115 checklists that week, 3,051 in all52%
  2. Brothers ParkBrazos County, best late March · 26 checklists that week, 206 in all45%
  3. Estero Llano Grande State ParK (Llano Grande Lake)Hidalgo County, best the second week of March · 94 checklists that week, 2,477 in all42%
  4. River Legacy Park (east)Tarrant County, best late December · 21 checklists that week, 367 in all41%
  5. Estero Llano Grande State ParKHidalgo County, best the second week of March · 622 checklists that week, 17,327 in all37%

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

Best time of day

In Texas, the Eastern Screech-Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (1.6% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (898) to judge1 am: too few checklists (756) to judge2 am: too few checklists (663) to judge3 am: too few checklists (741) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1537) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6113) to judge6 am: 2.5% of 74687 checklists7 am: 0.9% of 285131 checklists8 am: 1.1% of 329960 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 267889 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 218205 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 178879 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 153722 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 144662 checklists2 pm: 0.7% of 138578 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 136878 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 137550 checklists5 pm: 0.9% of 113599 checklists6 pm: 1.3% of 81743 checklists7 pm: 2.1% of 53396 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (17221) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4048) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1965) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (990) 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
January1.0%0.9%0.8%1.0%
February1.0%0.9%0.9%1.1%
March1.3%1.7%1.5%1.4%
April1.1%1.0%1.0%1.0%
May1.0%1.1%1.2%0.7%
June0.6%0.5%0.4%0.5%
July0.6%0.6%0.7%0.8%
August0.8%0.8%0.7%0.9%
September0.8%0.7%0.8%0.8%
October0.9%0.9%0.8%0.8%
November0.9%1.1%0.9%0.7%
December0.8%0.8%1.1%1.0%

Neighboring states

  • Louisiana: arrives late February, 17 weeks earlier than Texas
  • Arkansas: arrives mid July, 2 weeks later than Texas
  • Kansas: arrives mid July, 2 weeks later than Texas
  • Tennessee: arrives the second week of July, 1 week later than Texas

Common questions

When do Eastern Screech-Owls arrive in Texas?
Eastern Screech-Owls are winter birds in Texas: the first arrive in early July, they are common by mid July, peak in mid March (1.5% of checklists), and most are gone by late May.
When do Eastern Screech-Owls leave Texas?
Most Eastern Screech-Owls have left Texas by late May, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early June.
When is the best time to see a Eastern Screech-Owl in Texas?
The Eastern Screech-Owl is reported most often in mid March, on about 1.5% of Texas checklists.
Where in Texas are Eastern Screech-Owls seen most often?
By county, Sabine County, Dickens County, and Knox County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Eastern Screech-Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).