WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Rhode Island?

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

Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Rhode Island: they arrive in mid August, peak in mid November (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 15-21mid August
Common byAug 15-21mid August
PeakNov 15-21mid November
Most gone byMay 15-21mid May

Best: mid November. First arrivals mid August; most are gone by mid May. Peak: on about 1.2% of Rhode Island 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. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 1.1% of 5678 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.6% of 4004 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.0% of 3691 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.7% of 4738 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.5% of 3178 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.9% of 3262 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.8% of 4286 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.8% of 3449 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.0% of 3014 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.9% of 3259 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.1% of 3320 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 4692 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.9% of 3280 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.9% of 3872 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.9% of 4037 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.7% of 5595 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.8% of 5699 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.6% of 6089 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 4937 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.4% of 5445 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 3031 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.3% of 2793 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.2% of 2736 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.2% of 3318 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.2% of 2629 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.1% of 2561 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 2580 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.3% of 3654 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.3% of 2629 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.2% of 2912 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.5% of 2850 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.7% of 4007 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.6% of 2893 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.7% of 2850 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.8% of 2770 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.9% of 3888 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.7% of 3174 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.9% of 3278 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.9% of 3008 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.5% of 3678 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.8% of 3270 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.1% of 3405 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.3% of 2907 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.2% of 3607 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.1% of 2415 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.2% of 2345 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.1% of 2836 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.0% of 4826 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Newport CountyBest the second week of December · 570 checklists that week, 33,574 in all2.1%
  2. Kent CountyBest the second week of August · 361 checklists that week, 16,966 in all1.6%
  3. Providence CountyBest the second week of March · 784 checklists that week, 40,898 in all1.4%
  4. Bristol CountyBest early December · 254 checklists that week, 15,899 in all1.4%
  5. Washington CountyBest late March · 1620 checklists that week, 65,038 in all1.2%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Stony PointProvidence County, best early March · 21 checklists that week, 1,923 in all21%
  2. Emilie Ruecker Wildlife RefugeNewport County, best early February · 28 checklists that week, 409 in all18%
  3. Great Swamp Management AreaWashington County, best mid March · 31 checklists that week, 1,033 in all16%
  4. Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge (Foster Cove)Washington County, best early January · 27 checklists that week, 573 in all14%
  5. Echo LakeBristol County, best mid March · 32 checklists that week, 435 in all14%
  6. Wood River Barrens Matrix Forest Site FeeKent County, best mid April · 22 checklists that week, 533 in all12%

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

Best time of day

In Rhode Island, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 4 and 6 pm (1.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (42) to judge1 am: too few checklists (58) to judge2 am: too few checklists (45) to judge3 am: too few checklists (69) to judge4 am: too few checklists (319) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3170) to judge6 am: 1.2% of 10493 checklists7 am: 0.3% of 17631 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 18834 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 17725 checklists10 am: 0.2% of 16696 checklists11 am: 0.2% of 14799 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 12580 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 12779 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 12302 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 11884 checklists4 pm: 1.5% of 9762 checklists5 pm: 1.5% of 6442 checklists6 pm: 1.5% of 3947 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (2119) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (452) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (105) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (69) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (53) 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%0.6%1.0%0.7%
February0.5%0.9%0.8%0.8%
March1.0%0.9%1.1%1.0%
April0.9%0.9%0.9%0.7%
May0.8%0.6%0.4%0.4%
June0.1%0.3%0.2%0.2%
July0.2%0.1%0.3%0.3%
August0.3%0.2%0.5%0.7%
September0.6%0.7%0.8%0.9%
October0.7%0.9%0.9%0.5%
November0.8%1.1%1.3%1.2%
December1.1%1.2%1.1%1.0%

Neighboring states

  • Massachusetts: arrives mid August, in the same week than Rhode Island
  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of August, 1 week earlier than Rhode Island
  • New Jersey: arrives mid August, in the same week than Rhode Island
  • New York: arrives mid August, in the same week than Rhode Island

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Rhode Island?
Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Rhode Island: they arrive in mid August, peak in mid November (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.
When do Great Horned Owls leave Rhode Island?
Most Great Horned Owls have left Rhode Island by mid May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Rhode Island?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in mid November, on about 1.2% of Rhode Island checklists.
Where in Rhode Island are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Newport County, Kent County, and Providence County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).