WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in South Carolina?

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

Great Horned Owls are winter birds in South Carolina: they arrive in late July, peak in late December (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 22-31late July
Common byJul 22-31late July
PeakDec 22-31late December
Most gone byMay 8-14the second week of May

Best: late December. First arrivals late July; most are gone by the second week of May. Peak: on about 1.6% of South Carolina checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Maycommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%Jan 1-7: 1.8% of 15487 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.1% of 11691 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.1% of 11994 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.2% of 16225 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.2% of 12192 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.0% of 14044 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.1% of 18483 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.0% of 12045 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.4% of 11511 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.2% of 11704 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.4% of 11526 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.2% of 17386 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.0% of 13148 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.9% of 13193 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.7% of 13936 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.7% of 19002 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.7% of 14133 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.6% of 13668 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.5% of 11064 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.5% of 14461 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.3% of 10231 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.5% of 9417 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.6% of 8012 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.6% of 9720 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.6% of 7907 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 7338 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 7312 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.7% of 10877 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.6% of 7816 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 7655 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.8% of 7797 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.0% of 11246 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.1% of 8956 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.3% of 8929 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.4% of 9389 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.4% of 13028 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.6% of 11063 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.4% of 10968 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.7% of 10264 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.5% of 12917 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.3% of 8802 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.3% of 8339 checklistsNov 15-21: 1.5% of 8798 checklistsNov 22-30: 1.5% of 12925 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.2% of 8541 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.9% of 8609 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.5% of 9961 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.5% of 17541 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 South 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 South Carolina

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hampton CountyBest early January · 29 checklists that week, 1,038 in all11%
  2. Florence CountyBest mid October · 37 checklists that week, 2,713 in all11%
  3. Chester CountyBest the second week of October · 10 checklists that week, 921 in all10%
  4. Union CountyBest late October · 14 checklists that week, 851 in all9.8%
  5. Bamberg CountyBest late December · 19 checklists that week, 642 in all7.7%
  6. Lee CountyBest mid February · 18 checklists that week, 1,310 in all7.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Fant's Grove Wildlife Management AreaAnderson County, best the second week of November · 29 checklists that week, 2,159 in all31%
  2. Jessamine PondGeorgetown County, best the second week of March · 40 checklists that week, 1,327 in all28%
  3. The Cove (Fort Moultrie)Charleston County, best early April · 25 checklists that week, 1,023 in all28%
  4. Charles Towne Landing State Historic SiteCharleston County, best late March · 22 checklists that week, 762 in all28%

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

Best time of day

In South Carolina, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.9% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (222) to judge1 am: too few checklists (160) to judge2 am: too few checklists (132) to judge3 am: too few checklists (212) to judge4 am: too few checklists (267) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1898) to judge6 am: 4.5% of 19280 checklists7 am: 1.1% of 66492 checklists8 am: 0.6% of 73941 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 63039 checklists10 am: 0.4% of 52652 checklists11 am: 0.4% of 41908 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 36782 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 33300 checklists2 pm: 0.6% of 32248 checklists3 pm: 0.8% of 35451 checklists4 pm: 1.3% of 34410 checklists5 pm: 1.6% of 27073 checklists6 pm: 1.7% of 17375 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (10313) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (2756) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (672) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (412) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (256) 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
January1.8%1.1%1.1%1.2%
February1.2%1.0%1.1%1.0%
March1.4%1.2%1.4%1.2%
April1.0%0.9%0.7%0.7%
May0.7%0.6%0.5%0.5%
June0.3%0.5%0.6%0.6%
July0.6%0.4%0.5%0.7%
August0.6%0.7%0.8%1.0%
September1.1%1.3%1.4%1.4%
October1.6%1.4%1.7%1.5%
November1.3%1.3%1.5%1.5%
December1.2%0.9%1.5%1.5%

Neighboring states

  • North Carolina: arrives late June, 4 weeks earlier than South Carolina
  • Georgia: arrives the second week of July, 2 weeks earlier than South Carolina
  • Tennessee: arrives mid July, 1 week earlier than South Carolina
  • Alabama: arrives late July, in the same week than South Carolina

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in South Carolina?
Great Horned Owls are winter birds in South Carolina: they arrive in late July, peak in late December (1.6% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of May.
When do Great Horned Owls leave South Carolina?
Most Great Horned Owls have left South 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 South Carolina?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in late December, on about 1.6% of South Carolina checklists.
Where in South Carolina are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Hampton County, Florence County, and Chester County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).