WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in North Carolina?

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

Great Horned Owls are winter birds in North Carolina: they arrive in late June, peak in late December (1.3% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.

When to look

First arrivalsJun 22-30late June
Common byJun 22-30late June
PeakDec 22-31late December
Most gone byMay 8-14the second week of May

Best: late December. First arrivals late June; most are gone by the second week of May. Peak: on about 1.3% of North Carolina checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 1.1% of 30085 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.8% of 22728 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.8% of 24292 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.8% of 34122 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.9% of 26352 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.7% of 29663 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.6% of 41515 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.9% of 24318 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.9% of 23408 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.8% of 22658 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.9% of 22784 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.9% of 36034 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.8% of 28131 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 29190 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.6% of 32847 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.5% of 47966 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.5% of 37076 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.4% of 36228 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 30378 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.3% of 40237 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.4% of 27551 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.3% of 26473 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.4% of 22789 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 27615 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 20022 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 19315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 18934 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.5% of 25600 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.6% of 17987 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.6% of 17307 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.7% of 17080 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.7% of 25844 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.9% of 20818 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.1% of 20070 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 21984 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.9% of 26979 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.0% of 22605 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.1% of 22677 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.0% of 21407 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.0% of 25927 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.9% of 18830 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.9% of 18418 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.9% of 19101 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 25709 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.8% of 18856 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.0% of 18745 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.4% of 22478 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.3% of 34796 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Washington CountyBest early October · 20 checklists that week, 3,065 in all8.9%
  2. Columbus CountyBest early November · 11 checklists that week, 2,001 in all8.6%
  3. Cleveland CountyBest early September · 106 checklists that week, 6,121 in all7.9%
  4. Chowan CountyBest mid March · 57 checklists that week, 2,544 in all7.8%
  5. Pamlico CountyBest mid September · 99 checklists that week, 9,212 in all7.5%
  6. Halifax CountyBest mid September · 12 checklists that week, 2,587 in all7.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Motts CreekDare County, best the second week of March · 25 checklists that week, 1,741 in all44%
  2. City of Raleigh Open Space - Anne L.Wilkerson MD Nature PreserveWake County, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 425 in all41%
  3. Botanical Gardens at AshevilleBuncombe County, best early March · 30 checklists that week, 881 in all36%
  4. Carolina Beach State ParkNew Hanover County, best mid January · 28 checklists that week, 2,051 in all24%
  5. Town of Duck - Duck Town Park BoardwalkDare County, best mid August · 34 checklists that week, 2,630 in all22%
  6. Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial ForestWake County, best the second week of March · 31 checklists that week, 1,918 in all21%

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

Best time of day

In North Carolina, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (1.6% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%12 am: too few checklists (520) to judge1 am: too few checklists (489) to judge2 am: too few checklists (442) to judge3 am: too few checklists (544) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1621) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9671) to judge6 am: 3.3% of 50335 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 150152 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 182902 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 158933 checklists10 am: 0.2% of 128398 checklists11 am: 0.2% of 98671 checklists12 pm: 0.2% of 78640 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 72510 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 69179 checklists3 pm: 0.6% of 67669 checklists4 pm: 1.1% of 63964 checklists5 pm: 1.6% of 48520 checklists6 pm: 1.8% of 33196 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19700) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (6160) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1943) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1119) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (651) 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
January1.1%0.8%0.8%0.8%
February0.9%0.7%0.6%0.9%
March0.9%0.8%0.9%0.9%
April0.8%0.7%0.6%0.5%
May0.5%0.4%0.4%0.3%
June0.4%0.3%0.4%0.5%
July0.4%0.4%0.5%0.5%
August0.6%0.6%0.7%0.7%
September0.9%1.1%0.8%0.9%
October1.0%1.1%1.0%1.0%
November0.9%0.9%0.9%0.9%
December0.8%1.0%1.4%1.3%

Neighboring states

  • South Carolina: arrives late July, 4 weeks later than North Carolina
  • Georgia: arrives the second week of July, 2 weeks later than North Carolina
  • Maryland: arrives the second week of August, 6 weeks later than North Carolina
  • Delaware: arrives mid August, 7 weeks later than North Carolina

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in North Carolina?
Great Horned Owls are winter birds in North Carolina: they arrive in late June, peak in late December (1.3% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.
When do Great Horned Owls leave North Carolina?
Most Great Horned Owls have left North Carolina by the second week of May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in North Carolina?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in late December, on about 1.3% of North Carolina checklists.
Where in North Carolina are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Washington County, Columbus County, and Cleveland County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).