WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Nevada?

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

The Great Horned Owl is in Nevada all year. It turns up on about 3.6% of checklists at its peak (mid January) and on 1.5% in its quietest week (late June).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekJan 15-21mid January
Quietest weekJun 22-30late June

Best: mid January. Here all year. Peak: on about 3.6% of Nevada checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 2.7% of 5121 checklistsJan 8-14: 4.0% of 3908 checklistsJan 15-21: 3.2% of 4000 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.5% of 4991 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.3% of 3377 checklistsFeb 8-14: 3.7% of 3747 checklistsFeb 15-21: 2.6% of 4852 checklistsFeb 22-28: 2.8% of 3712 checklistsMar 1-7: 2.1% of 3745 checklistsMar 8-14: 2.2% of 3763 checklistsMar 15-21: 2.8% of 4188 checklistsMar 22-31: 2.3% of 6027 checklistsApr 1-7: 2.3% of 4679 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.6% of 4609 checklistsApr 15-21: 2.8% of 4709 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.9% of 6984 checklistsMay 1-7: 3.1% of 5702 checklistsMay 8-14: 2.7% of 5928 checklistsMay 15-21: 2.9% of 5353 checklistsMay 22-31: 2.5% of 7352 checklistsJun 1-7: 2.2% of 4360 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.6% of 4183 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.6% of 3751 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.6% of 4126 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.3% of 3231 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.7% of 3024 checklistsJul 15-21: 1.9% of 2967 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.8% of 4212 checklistsAug 1-7: 1.7% of 2828 checklistsAug 8-14: 2.0% of 3036 checklistsAug 15-21: 2.0% of 3076 checklistsAug 22-31: 2.3% of 4345 checklistsSep 1-7: 3.0% of 3369 checklistsSep 8-14: 3.2% of 3728 checklistsSep 15-21: 2.4% of 3535 checklistsSep 22-30: 2.8% of 5028 checklistsOct 1-7: 2.5% of 3976 checklistsOct 8-14: 2.0% of 3781 checklistsOct 15-21: 2.9% of 3577 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.8% of 4986 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.6% of 3592 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.7% of 3685 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.0% of 3399 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.9% of 4544 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.9% of 3162 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.4% of 3191 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.2% of 3615 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.9% of 5101 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 Nevada 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 Nevada

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lander CountyBest mid April · 31 checklists that week, 1,413 in all21%
  2. Pershing CountyBest the second week of January · 11 checklists that week, 1,407 in all15%
  3. Churchill CountyBest mid February · 81 checklists that week, 3,104 in all14%
  4. White Pine CountyBest mid January · 27 checklists that week, 5,465 in all8.9%
  5. Carson CityBest early March · 100 checklists that week, 6,992 in all8.1%
  6. Lyon CountyBest early August · 47 checklists that week, 3,229 in all8.0%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Rancho San Rafael Regional Park (northwest)Washoe County, best early May · 25 checklists that week, 372 in all69%
  2. Washoe Lake State Park (Duck Flat)Washoe County, best late April · 29 checklists that week, 391 in all25%
  3. Truckee River OutletWashoe County, best the second week of January · 20 checklists that week, 369 in all19%
  4. Robert B. Griffith Water ProjectClark County, best early July · 44 checklists that week, 2,177 in all18%
  5. Mccarran Ranch PreserveStorey County, best early May · 21 checklists that week, 293 in all18%

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

Best time of day

In Nevada, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (3.9% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%8%12 am: too few checklists (114) to judge1 am: too few checklists (99) to judge2 am: too few checklists (71) to judge3 am: too few checklists (108) to judge4 am: too few checklists (459) to judge5 am: 6.4% of 4313 checklists6 am: 3.2% of 17070 checklists7 am: 2.7% of 27389 checklists8 am: 2.3% of 24858 checklists9 am: 1.9% of 22012 checklists10 am: 1.9% of 19284 checklists11 am: 1.4% of 15592 checklists12 pm: 1.4% of 12432 checklists1 pm: 1.5% of 11386 checklists2 pm: 1.7% of 11262 checklists3 pm: 2.2% of 10721 checklists4 pm: 2.7% of 9090 checklists5 pm: 3.1% of 6397 checklists6 pm: 2.9% of 5012 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (3026) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (905) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (271) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (164) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (120) 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
January2.7%4.0%3.2%3.5%
February3.3%3.7%2.6%2.8%
March2.1%2.2%2.8%2.3%
April2.3%2.6%2.8%2.9%
May3.1%2.7%2.9%2.5%
June2.2%1.6%1.6%1.6%
July1.3%1.7%1.9%1.8%
August1.7%2.0%2.0%2.3%
September3.0%3.2%2.4%2.8%
October2.5%2.0%2.9%1.8%
November1.6%1.7%2.0%1.9%
December1.9%2.4%2.2%1.9%

Neighboring states

  • California: year-round, peaks mid March
  • Utah: year-round, peaks late January
  • Idaho: winter visitor, peaks late March
  • Arizona: year-round, peaks the second week of April

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Nevada?
The Great Horned Owl is in Nevada all year. It turns up on about 3.6% of checklists at its peak (mid January) and on 1.5% in its quietest week (late June).
When do Great Horned Owls leave Nevada?
The Great Horned Owl does not leave Nevada: it is reported all year, from 1.5% of checklists in late June to 3.6% in mid January.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Nevada?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in mid January, on about 3.6% of Nevada checklists.
Where in Nevada are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Lander County, Pershing County, and Churchill County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).