WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Indiana?

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

Great Horned Owls arrive in Indiana in the second week of August, peak in the second week of April (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 8-14the second week of August
Common byAug 8-14the second week of August
PeakApr 8-14the second week of April
Most gone byMay 15-21mid May

Best: the second week of April. First arrivals the second week of August; most are gone by mid May. Peak: on about 1.7% of Indiana checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  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: 1.3% of 18123 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.7% of 12006 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.9% of 12403 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.9% of 16181 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.9% of 12546 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 14250 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.9% of 18077 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.2% of 13590 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.6% of 14545 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.9% of 14594 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.5% of 13894 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.5% of 22400 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.8% of 18069 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.7% of 19579 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.8% of 19518 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.4% of 30544 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.8% of 28430 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.8% of 30624 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 22920 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 21234 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 12279 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 10904 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.4% of 9488 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 11362 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.2% of 9947 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 9585 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 8929 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 12639 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 9528 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 9451 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.8% of 9442 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.8% of 14969 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.0% of 12628 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.0% of 11793 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.1% of 11396 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.1% of 14203 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.1% of 11365 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.4% of 12092 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.0% of 10440 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.9% of 13883 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.1% of 10476 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.2% of 9776 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.2% of 9035 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 12547 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.0% of 9078 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.9% of 8732 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.4% of 11024 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.3% of 15432 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 Indiana 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 Indiana

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clinton CountyBest late March · 29 checklists that week, 900 in all16%
  2. Kosciusko CountyBest late September · 178 checklists that week, 8,359 in all13%
  3. Miami CountyBest the second week of October · 10 checklists that week, 1,203 in all12%
  4. Newton CountyBest the second week of September · 88 checklists that week, 8,033 in all12%
  5. Owen CountyBest the second week of November · 25 checklists that week, 2,117 in all11%
  6. Benton CountyBest late October · 16 checklists that week, 993 in all9.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Flowering Well ParkHamilton County, best early January · 24 checklists that week, 336 in all60%
  2. West ParkHamilton County, best early March · 35 checklists that week, 778 in all36%
  3. University ParkJohnson County, best mid April · 20 checklists that week, 354 in all30%
  4. Celery Bog (Crumb Corner)Tippecanoe County, best early April · 21 checklists that week, 836 in all26%
  5. Celery BogTippecanoe County, best early April · 314 checklists that week, 12,503 in all26%

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

Best time of day

In Indiana, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (2.1% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (240) to judge1 am: too few checklists (231) to judge2 am: too few checklists (222) to judge3 am: too few checklists (202) to judge4 am: too few checklists (674) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4329) to judge6 am: 2.7% of 20589 checklists7 am: 1.2% of 58470 checklists8 am: 0.7% of 86931 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 78239 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 66080 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 54904 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 47610 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 44814 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 43790 checklists3 pm: 0.9% of 42983 checklists4 pm: 1.1% of 45349 checklists5 pm: 1.5% of 35993 checklists6 pm: 2.1% of 26447 checklists7 pm: 2.1% of 17740 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (7603) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1721) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (517) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (272) 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
January1.3%0.7%0.9%0.9%
February0.9%1.0%0.9%1.2%
March1.6%1.9%1.5%1.5%
April1.8%1.7%1.8%1.4%
May0.8%0.8%0.5%0.5%
June0.4%0.4%0.4%0.4%
July0.2%0.3%0.4%0.4%
August0.5%0.7%0.8%0.8%
September1.0%1.0%1.1%1.1%
October1.1%1.4%1.0%0.9%
November1.1%1.2%1.2%0.9%
December1.0%0.9%1.4%1.3%

Neighboring states

  • Illinois: arrives the second week of August, in the same week than Indiana
  • Kentucky: arrives late July, 2 weeks earlier than Indiana
  • Ohio: arrives mid August, 1 week later than Indiana
  • Michigan: arrives mid August, 1 week later than Indiana

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Indiana?
Great Horned Owls arrive in Indiana in the second week of August, peak in the second week of April (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.
When do Great Horned Owls leave Indiana?
Most Great Horned Owls have left Indiana by mid May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Indiana?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in the second week of April, on about 1.7% of Indiana checklists.
Where in Indiana are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Clinton County, Kosciusko County, and Miami County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).