WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Michigan?

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

Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Michigan: they arrive in mid August, peak in late December (1.3% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common byAug 15-21mid August
PeakDec 22-31late December
Most gone byMay 15-21mid May

Best: late December. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by mid May. Peak: on about 1.3% of Michigan checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  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%Jan 1-7: 1.2% of 38160 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.2% of 24696 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.2% of 23771 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.2% of 31347 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.2% of 23225 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.1% of 27398 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.0% of 36606 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.4% of 27127 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.2% of 29700 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.3% of 31587 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.1% of 32118 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.1% of 47777 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.1% of 38557 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.2% of 42207 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.2% of 42759 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.2% of 64458 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.0% of 60998 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.9% of 72091 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.6% of 59058 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.4% of 64724 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.2% of 35990 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.2% of 32595 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.3% of 30017 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.3% of 33988 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.2% of 28708 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 25175 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 24084 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 33522 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 25098 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.3% of 24353 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.5% of 25059 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.6% of 37489 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.7% of 28410 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.7% of 27887 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.7% of 26614 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.8% of 32557 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.8% of 25844 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.7% of 27741 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.6% of 24693 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.6% of 32460 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.7% of 23660 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.7% of 21542 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.9% of 19922 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.8% of 25069 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.8% of 18272 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.0% of 18961 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.4% of 24171 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.3% of 30908 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 Michigan 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 Michigan

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Macomb CountyBest mid April · 1606 checklists that week, 61,232 in all11%
  2. Isabella CountyBest mid January · 374 checklists that week, 23,321 in all5.0%
  3. Wexford CountyBest mid January · 54 checklists that week, 5,111 in all4.5%
  4. Montmorency CountyBest early March · 10 checklists that week, 1,725 in all4.2%
  5. Ontonagon CountyBest the second week of March · 31 checklists that week, 3,548 in all4.0%
  6. Lake CountyBest late December · 27 checklists that week, 2,682 in all3.9%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Island ParkWashtenaw County, best mid March · 31 checklists that week, 559 in all86%
  2. Eberwhite WoodsWashtenaw County, best the second week of April · 71 checklists that week, 1,385 in all61%
  3. Metro Beach MetroparkMacomb County, best mid April · 319 checklists that week, 11,771 in all43%
  4. Grand River Ravines - SouthOttawa County, best late March · 22 checklists that week, 284 in all38%
  5. Troy Farm ParkOakland County, best late March · 25 checklists that week, 550 in all37%
  6. Maplewood ParkOttawa County, best the second week of April · 35 checklists that week, 392 in all35%

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

Best time of day

In Michigan, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (1.3% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (712) to judge1 am: too few checklists (592) to judge2 am: too few checklists (532) to judge3 am: too few checklists (516) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1592) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6849) to judge6 am: 2.4% of 39298 checklists7 am: 1.0% of 120344 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 180109 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 171966 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 156332 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 134964 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 120967 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 113852 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 110773 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 105530 checklists4 pm: 0.9% of 100958 checklists5 pm: 1.2% of 80085 checklists6 pm: 1.3% of 62883 checklists7 pm: 1.4% of 44912 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (21062) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5920) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1629) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (775) 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
January1.2%1.2%1.2%1.2%
February1.2%1.1%1.0%1.4%
March1.2%1.3%1.1%1.1%
April1.1%1.2%1.2%1.2%
May1.0%0.9%0.6%0.4%
June0.2%0.2%0.3%0.3%
July0.2%0.3%0.3%0.4%
August0.4%0.3%0.5%0.6%
September0.7%0.7%0.7%0.8%
October0.8%0.7%0.6%0.6%
November0.7%0.7%0.9%0.8%
December0.8%1.0%1.4%1.3%

Neighboring states

  • Ohio: arrives mid August, in the same week than Michigan
  • Indiana: arrives the second week of August, 1 week earlier than Michigan
  • Illinois: arrives the second week of August, 1 week earlier than Michigan
  • Wisconsin: arrives early August, 2 weeks earlier than Michigan

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Michigan?
Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Michigan: they arrive in mid August, peak in late December (1.3% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.
When do Great Horned Owls leave Michigan?
Most Great Horned Owls have left Michigan by mid May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Michigan?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in late December, on about 1.3% of Michigan checklists.
Where in Michigan are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Macomb County, Isabella County, and Wexford County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).