WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in California?

Adult Great Horned Owl
Photo: Michael Warner, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Great Horned Owl is in California all year. It turns up on about 3.1% of checklists at its peak (mid March) and on 1.8% in its quietest week (late June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekMar 15-21mid March
Quietest weekJun 22-30late June

Best: mid March. Here all year. Peak: on about 3.1% of California checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 2.7% of 112336 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.5% of 85518 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.7% of 86488 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.1% of 116174 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.9% of 75171 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.9% of 84467 checklistsFeb 15-21: 2.8% of 105683 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.0% of 83396 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.0% of 77470 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.1% of 75180 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.1% of 80770 checklistsMar 22-31: 3.1% of 114116 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.0% of 84057 checklistsApr 8-14: 3.2% of 83692 checklistsApr 15-21: 3.0% of 89242 checklistsApr 22-30: 3.0% of 114289 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.7% of 85728 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.5% of 91984 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.4% of 75478 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.4% of 106250 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.1% of 70051 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.9% of 67485 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.8% of 66269 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.8% of 79172 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.8% of 62877 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.8% of 60328 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.8% of 59705 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.9% of 83796 checklistsAug 1-7: 2.1% of 60215 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.2% of 60172 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.3% of 59877 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.6% of 89107 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.8% of 72000 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.8% of 71228 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.9% of 76808 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.0% of 100204 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.9% of 76571 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.7% of 80874 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.4% of 74581 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.5% of 97498 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.3% of 70851 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.2% of 72431 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.1% of 66767 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.1% of 94737 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.3% of 65393 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.5% of 67449 checklistsDec 15-21: 3.3% of 83421 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.8% 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in California

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Sutter CountyBest early November · 87 checklists that week, 4,996 in all17%
  2. Merced CountyBest late February · 442 checklists that week, 13,095 in all17%
  3. Modoc CountyBest the second week of February · 44 checklists that week, 6,138 in all13%
  4. Colusa CountyBest early February · 239 checklists that week, 7,653 in all13%
  5. Kings CountyBest the second week of April · 93 checklists that week, 3,688 in all11%
  6. Glenn CountyBest the second week of October · 47 checklists that week, 5,189 in all10%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Piute PondsLos Angeles County, best late July · 20 checklists that week, 1,269 in all73%
  2. Carrizo Plain National MonumentSan Luis Obispo County, best late April · 20 checklists that week, 409 in all70%
  3. Frank G Bonelli Regional ParkLos Angeles County, best the second week of March · 142 checklists that week, 7,491 in all62%
  4. Los Angeles Department of Water and PowerInyo County, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 853 in all56%
  5. El Monte ParkSan Diego County, best late February · 58 checklists that week, 710 in all55%
  6. Butterbredt SpringKern County, best late April · 119 checklists that week, 711 in all55%

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

Best time of day

In California, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (4.8% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%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: 6.1% of 186053 checklists7 am: 2.3% of 444086 checklists8 am: 1.8% of 535846 checklists9 am: 1.4% of 486061 checklists10 am: 1.2% of 411130 checklists11 am: 1.1% of 325798 checklists12 pm: 1.1% of 269132 checklists1 pm: 1.2% of 244762 checklists2 pm: 1.4% of 235420 checklists3 pm: 2.1% of 232365 checklists4 pm: 3.3% of 208688 checklists5 pm: 4.4% of 146104 checklists6 pm: 5.4% 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
January2.7%2.5%2.7%3.1%
February2.9%2.9%2.8%3.0%
March3.0%3.1%3.1%3.1%
April3.0%3.2%3.0%3.0%
May2.7%2.5%2.4%2.4%
June2.1%1.9%1.8%1.8%
July1.8%1.8%1.8%1.9%
August2.1%2.2%2.3%2.6%
September2.8%2.8%2.9%3.0%
October2.9%2.7%2.4%2.5%
November2.3%2.2%2.1%2.1%
December2.3%2.5%3.3%2.8%

Neighboring states

  • Nevada: year-round, peaks mid January
  • Utah: year-round, peaks late January
  • Arizona: year-round, peaks the second week of April
  • Oregon: year-round, peaks late May

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in California?
The Great Horned Owl is in California all year. It turns up on about 3.1% of checklists at its peak (mid March) and on 1.8% in its quietest week (late June).
When do Great Horned Owls leave California?
The Great Horned Owl does not leave California: it is reported all year, from 1.8% of checklists in late June to 3.1% in mid March.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in California?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in mid March, on about 3.1% of California checklists.
Where in California are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Sutter County, Merced County, and Modoc County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).