WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Mississippi?

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

Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Mississippi: they arrive in mid August, peak in the second week of October (1.9% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common byAug 15-21mid August
PeakOct 8-14the second week of October
Most gone byMay 1-7early May

Best: the second week of October. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by early May. Peak: on about 1.9% of Mississippi checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  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 4836 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.2% of 3323 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.3% of 3400 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.2% of 4705 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.4% of 3387 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.2% of 3911 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.1% of 4691 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.6% of 3409 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.6% of 3276 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.5% of 3273 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.3% of 3552 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.9% of 5618 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.8% of 4432 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.8% of 4907 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.8% of 5239 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.8% of 7043 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.8% of 4597 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.4% of 4383 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.3% of 3088 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.3% of 3805 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.5% of 2658 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.5% of 2469 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.2% of 2112 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 2534 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.9% of 2099 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.7% of 1885 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.4% of 1811 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.6% of 2793 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.3% of 2045 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.5% of 2210 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.7% of 2437 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.0% of 3415 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.1% of 2837 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.4% of 2585 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.0% of 2870 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.6% of 3610 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.0% of 2938 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.9% of 3457 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.7% of 3168 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.8% of 3752 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.4% of 2847 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.9% of 2648 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.8% of 2599 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.5% of 3389 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.2% of 2419 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.4% of 2526 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.0% of 2966 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.6% of 4466 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Washington CountyBest late November · 15 checklists that week, 495 in all16%
  2. Tallahatchie CountyBest late December · 21 checklists that week, 303 in all16%
  3. Panola CountyBest the second week of October · 12 checklists that week, 1,311 in all12%
  4. Winston CountyBest mid December · 17 checklists that week, 382 in all9.5%
  5. Bolivar CountyBest mid December · 25 checklists that week, 384 in all9.4%
  6. Quitman CountyBest the second week of February · 14 checklists that week, 395 in all9.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Beardslee LakeJackson County, best mid February · 24 checklists that week, 529 in all56%
  2. Dickerson ArmNoxubee County, best late November · 20 checklists that week, 776 in all26%
  3. Bouie RiverForrest County, best the second week of March · 25 checklists that week, 746 in all22%
  4. Bellefontaine Point Coastal ReserveJackson County, best late December · 30 checklists that week, 676 in all15%
  5. Hiller ParkHarrison County, best mid March · 22 checklists that week, 972 in all14%
  6. Hurricane LakeMadison County, best late December · 37 checklists that week, 1,600 in all13%

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

Best time of day

In Mississippi, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (1.9% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (54) to judge1 am: too few checklists (48) to judge2 am: too few checklists (28) to judge3 am: too few checklists (60) to judge4 am: too few checklists (114) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1139) to judge6 am: 2.9% of 9054 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 18481 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 17525 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 15482 checklists10 am: 0.5% of 14380 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 12728 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 11009 checklists1 pm: 0.6% of 10651 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 10787 checklists3 pm: 1.4% of 11221 checklists4 pm: 1.8% of 11861 checklists5 pm: 1.8% of 8854 checklists6 pm: 2.1% of 6018 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (2387) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (314) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (114) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (63) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (48) 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%1.2%1.3%1.2%
February1.4%1.2%1.1%1.6%
March1.6%1.5%1.3%0.9%
April0.8%0.8%0.8%0.8%
May0.8%0.4%0.3%0.3%
June0.5%0.5%0.2%0.4%
July0.9%0.7%0.4%0.6%
August0.3%0.5%0.7%1.0%
September1.1%1.4%1.0%1.6%
October2.0%1.9%1.7%1.8%
November1.4%1.9%1.8%1.5%
December1.2%1.4%2.0%1.6%

Neighboring states

  • Alabama: arrives late July, 3 weeks earlier than Mississippi
  • Louisiana: arrives early July, 6 weeks earlier than Mississippi
  • Arkansas: arrives late January, 21 weeks later than Mississippi
  • Georgia: arrives the second week of July, 5 weeks earlier than Mississippi

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Mississippi?
Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Mississippi: they arrive in mid August, peak in the second week of October (1.9% of checklists), and most are gone by early May.
When do Great Horned Owls leave Mississippi?
Most Great Horned Owls have left Mississippi by early May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Mississippi?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in the second week of October, on about 1.9% of Mississippi checklists.
Where in Mississippi are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Washington County, Tallahatchie County, and Panola County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).