WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Florida?

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

The Great Horned Owl is in Florida all year. It turns up on about 1.9% of checklists at its peak (the second week of December) and on 0.8% in its quietest week (mid May).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekDec 8-14the second week of December
Quietest weekMay 15-21mid May

Best: the second week of December. Here all year. Peak: on about 1.9% of Florida checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  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%Jan 1-7: 1.8% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.5% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.6% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.7% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.6% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.7% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.5% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.8% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.8% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.8% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.8% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.6% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.5% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.3% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.3% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.1% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.0% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.9% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.8% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.9% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.2% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.0% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.0% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.9% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.9% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.0% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.0% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.2% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.2% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.3% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.3% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.5% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.5% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.5% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.7% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.7% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.6% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.6% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.7% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.7% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.4% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.5% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.6% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.0% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.8% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.0% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.6% 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. Franklin CountyBest mid April · 762 checklists that week, 20,336 in all9.8%
  2. Sumter CountyBest the second week of March · 383 checklists that week, 18,218 in all8.0%
  3. Highlands CountyBest early September · 200 checklists that week, 15,281 in all6.9%
  4. Jefferson CountyBest mid November · 118 checklists that week, 4,323 in all6.7%
  5. Glades CountyBest early March · 150 checklists that week, 6,182 in all6.7%
  6. Citrus CountyBest the second week of July · 122 checklists that week, 15,247 in all6.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Philippe PointPinellas County, best early February · 34 checklists that week, 1,059 in all56%
  2. Pam Callahan Nature PreserveHillsborough County, best late October · 55 checklists that week, 2,065 in all46%
  3. Honeymoon IslandPinellas County, best early March · 89 checklists that week, 2,873 in all41%
  4. Rattlesnake CoveFranklin County, best early December · 31 checklists that week, 2,246 in all38%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (2.6% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%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: 4.8% of 94591 checklists7 am: 1.4% of 296183 checklists8 am: 1.1% of 319987 checklists9 am: 0.9% of 254830 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 209480 checklists11 am: 0.7% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 0.7% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 0.9% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 1.4% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 2.0% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 2.5% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 2.9% 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
January1.8%1.5%1.6%1.7%
February1.6%1.7%1.5%1.8%
March1.8%1.8%1.8%1.6%
April1.5%1.3%1.3%1.1%
May1.0%0.9%0.8%0.8%
June0.9%1.2%1.0%1.0%
July0.9%0.9%1.0%1.0%
August1.2%1.2%1.3%1.3%
September1.5%1.5%1.5%1.7%
October1.7%1.6%1.6%1.7%
November1.7%1.4%1.5%1.6%
December2.0%1.8%2.0%1.6%

Neighboring states

  • Georgia: winter visitor, peaks early October
  • South Carolina: winter visitor, peaks late December
  • Alabama: winter visitor, peaks early October
  • Mississippi: winter visitor, peaks the second week of October

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Florida?
The Great Horned Owl is in Florida all year. It turns up on about 1.9% of checklists at its peak (the second week of December) and on 0.8% in its quietest week (mid May).
When do Great Horned Owls leave Florida?
The Great Horned Owl does not leave Florida: it is reported all year, from 0.8% of checklists in mid May to 1.9% in the second week of December.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Florida?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in the second week of December, on about 1.9% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Franklin County, Sumter County, and Highlands County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).