WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Tennessee?

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

Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Tennessee: they arrive in mid July, peak in early October (1.3% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.

When to look

First arrivalsJul 15-21mid July
Common byJul 15-21mid July
PeakOct 1-7early October
Most gone byMay 15-21mid May

Best: early October. First arrivals mid July; most are gone by mid May. Peak: on about 1.3% of Tennessee checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  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: 1.1% of 16696 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.9% of 13056 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.6% of 13646 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.8% of 18071 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.8% of 13342 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.8% of 14316 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.6% of 20395 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.9% of 13129 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 12701 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.8% of 12789 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.6% of 13599 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.7% of 20293 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.7% of 15779 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.5% of 16646 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.4% of 18625 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.4% of 26689 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.4% of 21054 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.4% of 19954 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.4% of 14494 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.4% of 17790 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.3% of 11344 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.5% of 11049 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.4% of 9625 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.4% of 11522 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.3% of 9208 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.4% of 8814 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.3% of 8887 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.4% of 12739 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.4% of 9632 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 9514 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.7% of 9619 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.8% of 14227 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.0% of 11988 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.9% of 11660 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.2% of 11774 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.3% of 15658 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.3% of 12641 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.2% of 12389 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.0% of 10249 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.3% of 14085 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.3% of 10700 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.0% of 10709 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.9% of 9955 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.9% of 13423 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.0% of 10106 checklistsDec 8-14: 1.0% of 10478 checklistsDec 15-21: 1.5% of 12177 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.0% of 17397 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hardeman CountyBest early December · 11 checklists that week, 541 in all12%
  2. Clay CountyBest late August · 23 checklists that week, 704 in all12%
  3. Hamblen CountyBest late September · 27 checklists that week, 1,320 in all9.2%
  4. Smith CountyBest the second week of September · 27 checklists that week, 938 in all8.6%
  5. Cannon CountyBest late November · 20 checklists that week, 995 in all8.6%
  6. Lake CountyBest late November · 123 checklists that week, 5,235 in all8.3%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Victor Ashe ParkKnox County, best the second week of February · 27 checklists that week, 334 in all56%
  2. Third Creek Greenway ParkKnox County, best early April · 21 checklists that week, 271 in all38%
  3. Old Cathole (historical)Humphreys County, best early September · 46 checklists that week, 343 in all15%
  4. Thomas BrothersDavidson County, best early January · 33 checklists that week, 259 in all15%
  5. Robbins-Halle Nature PreserveShelby County, best early January · 21 checklists that week, 650 in all13%
  6. Penal Farm Lake Number Two (Penal Farm Lake Number One)Shelby County, best late March · 20 checklists that week, 511 in all13%

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

Best time of day

In Tennessee, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 pm (1.4% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%12 am: too few checklists (224) to judge1 am: too few checklists (253) to judge2 am: too few checklists (245) to judge3 am: too few checklists (267) to judge4 am: too few checklists (582) to judge5 am: too few checklists (5688) to judge6 am: 2.2% of 36828 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 72816 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 76910 checklists9 am: 0.2% of 69071 checklists10 am: 0.2% of 60943 checklists11 am: 0.2% of 52311 checklists12 pm: 0.1% of 46524 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 41133 checklists2 pm: 0.4% of 40305 checklists3 pm: 0.7% of 41013 checklists4 pm: 1.0% of 40029 checklists5 pm: 1.5% of 29775 checklists6 pm: 1.4% of 20977 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (12529) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (4456) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1056) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (445) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (252) 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%0.9%0.6%0.8%
February0.8%0.8%0.6%0.9%
March0.7%0.8%0.6%0.7%
April0.7%0.5%0.4%0.4%
May0.4%0.4%0.4%0.4%
June0.3%0.5%0.4%0.4%
July0.3%0.4%0.3%0.4%
August0.4%0.7%0.7%0.8%
September1.0%0.9%1.2%1.3%
October1.3%1.2%1.0%1.3%
November1.3%1.0%0.9%0.9%
December1.0%1.0%1.5%1.0%

Neighboring states

  • Kentucky: arrives late July, 1 week later than Tennessee
  • Georgia: arrives the second week of July, 1 week earlier than Tennessee
  • Alabama: arrives late July, 1 week later than Tennessee
  • Indiana: arrives the second week of August, 3 weeks later than Tennessee

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Tennessee?
Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Tennessee: they arrive in mid July, peak in early October (1.3% of checklists), and most are gone by mid May.
When do Great Horned Owls leave Tennessee?
Most Great Horned Owls have left Tennessee by mid May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Tennessee?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in early October, on about 1.3% of Tennessee checklists.
Where in Tennessee are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Hardeman County, Clay County, and Hamblen County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).