WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in New Jersey?

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

Great Horned Owls are winter birds in New Jersey: they arrive in mid August, peak in mid December (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.

When to look

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

Best: mid December. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by mid May. Peak: on about 1.7% of New Jersey checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maycommon
  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%2%Jan 1-7: 1.4% of 28167 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.3% of 20583 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.4% of 19739 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.3% of 24586 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.6% of 17226 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 19567 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.0% of 26553 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.5% of 19046 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.2% of 17969 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.3% of 18976 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.5% of 18581 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.2% of 27590 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.2% of 21202 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.3% of 23609 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.4% of 25056 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.2% of 36679 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.8% of 38378 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.0% of 44071 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 34076 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 32558 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 18049 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.3% of 15597 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.4% of 14894 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 17187 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 13406 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.5% of 12550 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 12358 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.5% of 18382 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 13689 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.5% of 14006 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.6% of 14483 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.8% of 23182 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.8% of 17984 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.0% of 18320 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.0% of 20491 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.0% of 26176 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.1% of 24112 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.1% of 24603 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.0% of 24549 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.2% of 26206 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.3% of 17469 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.2% of 15102 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.1% of 14958 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.2% of 19447 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.0% of 14017 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.3% of 14625 checklistsDec 15-21: 2.0% of 16937 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.8% of 26651 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Cumberland CountyBest mid December · 118 checklists that week, 13,927 in all6.1%
  2. Burlington CountyBest mid December · 850 checklists that week, 52,358 in all4.8%
  3. Salem CountyBest the second week of November · 108 checklists that week, 9,658 in all3.6%
  4. Atlantic CountyBest the second week of November · 399 checklists that week, 28,208 in all3.6%
  5. Union CountyBest the second week of October · 463 checklists that week, 23,647 in all3.3%
  6. Hudson CountyBest the second week of April · 563 checklists that week, 21,191 in all3.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Schmidts WoodsHudson County, best mid January · 21 checklists that week, 952 in all56%
  2. Alonzo Bonzal Wildlife PreserveEssex County, best late March · 23 checklists that week, 651 in all43%
  3. Lake LonnieBurlington County, best late December · 24 checklists that week, 234 in all33%
  4. Glades Wildlife RefugeCumberland County, best mid April · 29 checklists that week, 588 in all33%
  5. Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area (east)Cape May County, best the second week of October · 20 checklists that week, 420 in all30%

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

Best time of day

In New Jersey, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (2.0% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (746) to judge1 am: too few checklists (640) to judge2 am: too few checklists (606) to judge3 am: too few checklists (755) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1681) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11258) to judge6 am: 2.1% of 50447 checklists7 am: 0.6% of 118312 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 123273 checklists9 am: 0.4% of 107783 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 97537 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 82427 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 72581 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 71478 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 69994 checklists3 pm: 0.8% of 66822 checklists4 pm: 1.7% of 55950 checklists5 pm: 1.8% of 41360 checklists6 pm: 2.1% of 28122 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (14727) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4257) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1273) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (920) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (693) 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
January1.4%1.3%1.4%1.3%
February1.6%1.0%1.0%1.5%
March1.2%1.3%1.5%1.2%
April1.2%1.3%1.4%1.2%
May0.8%1.0%0.5%0.5%
June0.4%0.3%0.4%0.4%
July0.4%0.5%0.5%0.5%
August0.5%0.5%0.6%0.8%
September0.8%1.0%1.0%1.0%
October1.1%1.1%1.0%1.2%
November1.3%1.2%1.1%1.2%
December1.0%1.3%2.0%1.8%

Neighboring states

  • Delaware: arrives mid August, in the same week than New Jersey
  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of August, 1 week earlier than New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania: arrives late August, 1 week later than New Jersey
  • New York: arrives mid August, in the same week than New Jersey

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in New Jersey?
Great Horned Owls are winter birds in New Jersey: they arrive in mid August, peak in mid December (1.7% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.
When do Great Horned Owls leave New Jersey?
Most Great Horned Owls have left New Jersey by mid May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in New Jersey?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in mid December, on about 1.7% of New Jersey checklists.
Where in New Jersey are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Cumberland County, Burlington County, and Salem County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).