WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Kansas?

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

The Great Horned Owl is in Kansas all year. It turns up on about 3.0% of checklists at its peak (mid September) and on 1.3% in its quietest week (late June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekSep 15-21mid September
Quietest weekJun 22-30late June

Best: mid September. Here all year. Peak: on about 3.0% of Kansas checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  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%4%Jan 1-7: 2.6% of 8683 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.0% of 5710 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.0% of 5453 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.3% of 7868 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.3% of 5579 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.9% of 6307 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.9% of 7830 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.7% of 6124 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.7% of 6442 checklistsMar 8-14: 2.6% of 6925 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.5% of 7257 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.9% of 11527 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.4% of 8908 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.3% of 11070 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.1% of 11050 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.9% of 16381 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.3% of 15899 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.9% of 15349 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.5% of 10474 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.6% of 11264 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.0% of 6783 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.7% of 5654 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.4% of 4716 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.4% of 6232 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.2% of 5073 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.5% of 4528 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.7% of 4210 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.9% of 5986 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.8% of 4661 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.9% of 4762 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.8% of 4823 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.0% of 7214 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.4% of 5989 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.9% of 5549 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.9% of 5255 checklistsSep 22-30: 3.1% of 7370 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.6% of 5829 checklistsOct 8-14: 3.0% of 6183 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.5% of 5504 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.6% of 7289 checklistsNov 1-7: 2.3% of 5535 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.2% of 5462 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.6% of 4929 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.3% of 6627 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.7% of 4670 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.8% of 4805 checklistsDec 15-21: 3.0% of 6341 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.9% of 8186 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 Kansas 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 Kansas

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Rawlins CountyBest late February · 10 checklists that week, 522 in all29%
  2. Chautauqua CountyBest late November · 29 checklists that week, 723 in all24%
  3. Logan CountyBest early January · 13 checklists that week, 1,379 in all23%
  4. Kearny CountyBest early March · 12 checklists that week, 452 in all22%
  5. Morton CountyBest early March · 23 checklists that week, 4,009 in all20%
  6. Stanton CountyBest late January · 10 checklists that week, 604 in all19%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ford State Fishing Lake and Wildlife AreaFord County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 325 in all28%
  2. Cimarron National Grassland (east)Morton County, best late September · 27 checklists that week, 321 in all27%
  3. Lyon State Fishing LakeLyon County, best late November · 56 checklists that week, 338 in all22%
  4. Point of RocksMorton County, best early September · 28 checklists that week, 380 in all22%
  5. Scott State ParkScott County, best mid November · 21 checklists that week, 519 in all19%

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

Best time of day

In Kansas, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (4.7% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (150) to judge1 am: too few checklists (119) to judge2 am: too few checklists (97) to judge3 am: too few checklists (94) to judge4 am: too few checklists (124) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1459) to judge6 am: 6.0% of 12550 checklists7 am: 2.3% of 34128 checklists8 am: 1.5% of 45960 checklists9 am: 1.3% of 37806 checklists10 am: 1.0% of 32102 checklists11 am: 1.0% of 25896 checklists12 pm: 0.9% of 24203 checklists1 pm: 1.0% of 20269 checklists2 pm: 1.2% of 20772 checklists3 pm: 1.4% of 20978 checklists4 pm: 2.5% of 22094 checklists5 pm: 3.8% of 17739 checklists6 pm: 4.0% of 13963 checklists7 pm: 5.5% of 10110 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (4188) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (968) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (325) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (171) 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
January2.6%2.0%2.0%2.3%
February2.3%1.9%1.9%2.7%
March2.7%2.6%2.5%1.9%
April2.4%2.3%2.1%1.9%
May2.3%1.9%1.5%1.6%
June2.0%1.7%1.4%1.4%
July1.2%1.5%1.7%1.9%
August1.8%1.9%1.8%2.0%
September2.4%2.9%2.9%3.1%
October2.6%3.0%2.5%2.6%
November2.3%2.2%2.6%2.3%
December2.7%2.8%3.0%2.9%

Neighboring states

  • Nebraska: year-round, peaks mid December
  • Oklahoma: winter visitor, peaks early October
  • Missouri: winter visitor, peaks early March
  • Arkansas: summer visitor, peaks mid August

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Kansas?
The Great Horned Owl is in Kansas all year. It turns up on about 3.0% of checklists at its peak (mid September) and on 1.3% in its quietest week (late June).
When do Great Horned Owls leave Kansas?
The Great Horned Owl does not leave Kansas: it is reported all year, from 1.3% of checklists in late June to 3.0% in mid September.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Kansas?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in mid September, on about 3.0% of Kansas checklists.
Where in Kansas are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Rawlins County, Chautauqua County, and Logan County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).