WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Montana?

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

Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Montana: the first arrive in mid July, they are common by late August, peak in mid March (3.3% of checklists), and most are gone by late May.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 15-21mid July
Common byAug 22-31late August
PeakMar 15-21mid March
Most gone byMay 22-31late May

Best: mid March. First arrivals mid July; most are gone by late May. Peak: on about 3.3% of Montana checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decpeak season

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 2.4% of 7987 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.4% of 5561 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.3% of 5613 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.5% of 7881 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.5% of 5018 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.5% of 5598 checklistsFeb 15-21: 2.9% of 7247 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.0% of 5531 checklistsMar 1-7: 3.2% of 6110 checklistsMar 8-14: 3.1% of 6623 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.5% of 7687 checklistsMar 22-31: 3.4% of 11095 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.8% of 7774 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.9% of 8785 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.9% of 9684 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.6% of 13805 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.5% of 11847 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.5% of 13547 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.3% of 13019 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.0% of 20456 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.5% of 12993 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.2% of 11594 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.3% of 11159 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.1% of 13786 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.0% of 9584 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.2% of 9078 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.3% of 7905 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.2% of 10906 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.4% of 7335 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.7% of 6868 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.6% of 6866 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.7% of 10076 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.6% of 7670 checklistsSep 8-14: 3.0% of 7490 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.3% of 6804 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.1% of 8016 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.9% of 5996 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.3% of 6156 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.7% of 5742 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.3% of 7790 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.6% of 5353 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.6% of 5475 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.0% of 4603 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.9% of 6067 checklistsDec 1-7: 2.2% of 4362 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.6% of 4467 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.9% of 5328 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.2% of 6672 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 Montana 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 Montana

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Liberty CountyBest early May · 11 checklists that week, 800 in all38%
  2. Phillips CountyBest late February · 35 checklists that week, 4,818 in all16%
  3. Musselshell CountyBest the second week of September · 11 checklists that week, 961 in all15%
  4. Richland CountyBest mid March · 13 checklists that week, 673 in all13%
  5. Petroleum CountyBest mid March · 10 checklists that week, 427 in all13%
  6. Judith Basin CountyBest early April · 11 checklists that week, 650 in all12%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Council Grove State ParkMissoula County, best late April · 84 checklists that week, 1,323 in all63%
  2. Giant Springs State ParkCascade County, best mid April · 25 checklists that week, 1,249 in all54%
  3. Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge (southwest)Ravalli County, best the second week of May · 41 checklists that week, 873 in all49%
  4. American Prairie FoundationPhillips County, best the second week of June · 20 checklists that week, 287 in all34%
  5. Lolo National ForestMissoula County, best late February · 40 checklists that week, 2,195 in all24%
  6. Lewis and Clark Caverns State ParkJefferson County, best late April · 26 checklists that week, 587 in all24%

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

Best time of day

In Montana, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 pm (3.8% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (183) to judge1 am: too few checklists (169) to judge2 am: too few checklists (163) to judge3 am: too few checklists (212) to judge4 am: too few checklists (503) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4022) to judge6 am: 3.5% of 12719 checklists7 am: 2.1% of 31202 checklists8 am: 1.5% of 47646 checklists9 am: 1.5% of 44624 checklists10 am: 1.4% of 40704 checklists11 am: 1.4% of 33825 checklists12 pm: 1.3% of 29407 checklists1 pm: 1.6% of 27959 checklists2 pm: 1.7% of 26928 checklists3 pm: 1.7% of 25313 checklists4 pm: 2.5% of 22151 checklists5 pm: 2.8% of 16884 checklists6 pm: 3.4% of 13780 checklists7 pm: 4.5% of 9926 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (5765) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2099) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (595) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (230) 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
January2.4%2.4%2.3%2.5%
February2.5%2.5%2.9%3.0%
March3.2%3.1%3.5%3.4%
April2.8%2.9%2.9%2.6%
May2.5%2.5%2.3%2.0%
June1.5%1.2%1.3%1.1%
July1.0%1.2%1.3%1.2%
August1.4%1.7%1.6%1.7%
September2.6%3.0%2.3%2.1%
October1.9%2.3%1.7%1.3%
November1.6%1.6%2.0%1.9%
December2.2%2.6%2.9%2.2%

Neighboring states

  • Idaho: arrives late June, 3 weeks earlier than Montana
  • Wyoming: arrives late July, 1 week later than Montana
  • Utah: year-round, peaks late January
  • Washington: year-round, peaks early March

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Montana?
Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Montana: the first arrive in mid July, they are common by late August, peak in mid March (3.3% of checklists), and most are gone by late May.
When do Great Horned Owls leave Montana?
Most Great Horned Owls have left Montana by late May, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of June.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Montana?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in mid March, on about 3.3% of Montana checklists.
Where in Montana are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Liberty County, Phillips County, and Musselshell County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).