WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Nebraska?

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

The Great Horned Owl is in Nebraska all year. It turns up on about 2.7% of checklists at its peak (mid December) and on 1.3% in its quietest week (the second week of July).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekDec 15-21mid December
Quietest weekJul 8-14the second week of July

Best: mid December. Here all year. Peak: on about 2.7% of Nebraska checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 2.2% of 4210 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.1% of 2891 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.9% of 2685 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.9% of 3834 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.9% of 2803 checklistsFeb 8-14: 2.0% of 3134 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.6% of 4508 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.3% of 3238 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.2% of 3862 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.9% of 4894 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.1% of 5862 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.2% of 8598 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.3% of 5530 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.3% of 5528 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.3% of 6091 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.0% of 8661 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.0% of 9842 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.5% of 10044 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.5% of 8863 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.6% of 10207 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.5% of 4922 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.8% of 4054 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.4% of 3680 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.7% of 4349 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.0% of 3277 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.3% of 2803 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.5% of 2842 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.4% of 3920 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.6% of 2981 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.6% of 2819 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.9% of 3179 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.0% of 4599 checklistsSep 1-7: 2.1% of 3958 checklistsSep 8-14: 2.0% of 3460 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.4% of 3435 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.2% of 4975 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.3% of 3611 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.4% of 3605 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.2% of 3474 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.2% of 4352 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.6% of 3119 checklistsNov 8-14: 2.1% of 2887 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.8% of 2568 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.9% of 3506 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.4% of 2453 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.7% of 2756 checklistsDec 15-21: 3.3% of 3760 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.0% of 3746 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Nuckolls CountyBest mid December · 17 checklists that week, 590 in all21%
  2. Antelope CountyBest late February · 10 checklists that week, 664 in all20%
  3. Stanton CountyBest mid December · 40 checklists that week, 835 in all19%
  4. Kimball CountyBest early November · 18 checklists that week, 2,067 in all18%
  5. Garden CountyBest the second week of February · 13 checklists that week, 1,392 in all18%
  6. Phelps CountyBest mid December · 14 checklists that week, 836 in all18%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Flanagan Lake & Recreation AreaDouglas County, best mid April · 36 checklists that week, 1,089 in all36%
  2. Glacier Creek PreserveDouglas County, best early October · 23 checklists that week, 291 in all25%
  3. Oliver Reservoir State Recreation AreaKimball County, best mid September · 32 checklists that week, 597 in all24%
  4. Walnut Grove ParkDouglas County, best late April · 22 checklists that week, 516 in all22%
  5. Wilderness Park (Cardwell Branch)Lancaster County, best early May · 34 checklists that week, 189 in all20%
  6. Pioneers Park Nature CenterLancaster County, best the second week of March · 20 checklists that week, 456 in all17%

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

Best time of day

In Nebraska, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (3.5% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (60) to judge1 am: too few checklists (70) to judge2 am: too few checklists (74) to judge3 am: too few checklists (97) to judge4 am: too few checklists (318) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1382) to judge6 am: 6.5% of 6945 checklists7 am: 2.4% of 19066 checklists8 am: 1.3% of 24661 checklists9 am: 1.1% of 23438 checklists10 am: 1.1% of 20424 checklists11 am: 1.0% of 16727 checklists12 pm: 0.9% of 14774 checklists1 pm: 1.0% of 14443 checklists2 pm: 0.9% of 14830 checklists3 pm: 1.4% of 14445 checklists4 pm: 1.8% of 13353 checklists5 pm: 2.6% of 10506 checklists6 pm: 3.0% of 9208 checklists7 pm: 4.0% of 6334 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (2406) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (531) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (201) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (82) 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
January2.2%2.1%1.9%1.9%
February1.9%2.0%1.6%2.3%
March2.2%1.9%2.1%2.2%
April2.3%2.3%2.3%2.0%
May2.0%1.5%1.5%1.6%
June1.5%1.8%1.4%1.7%
July1.0%1.3%1.5%1.4%
August1.6%1.6%1.9%2.0%
September2.1%2.0%2.4%2.2%
October2.3%2.4%2.2%2.2%
November1.6%2.1%1.8%1.9%
December1.4%2.7%3.3%2.0%

Neighboring states

  • Kansas: year-round, peaks mid September
  • South Dakota: winter visitor, peaks mid December
  • Iowa: winter visitor, peaks late December
  • Missouri: winter visitor, peaks early March

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Nebraska?
The Great Horned Owl is in Nebraska all year. It turns up on about 2.7% of checklists at its peak (mid December) and on 1.3% in its quietest week (the second week of July).
When do Great Horned Owls leave Nebraska?
The Great Horned Owl does not leave Nebraska: it is reported all year, from 1.3% of checklists in the second week of July to 2.7% in mid December.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Nebraska?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in mid December, on about 2.7% of Nebraska checklists.
Where in Nebraska are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Nuckolls County, Antelope County, and Stanton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).