WhenToBird

Bubo virginianus · Strigidae

When Do Great Horned Owls Arrive in Wisconsin?

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

Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Wisconsin: they arrive in early August, peak in late December (2.8% of checklists), and most are gone by late May.

When to look

First arrivalsAug 1-7early August
Common byAug 1-7early August
PeakDec 22-31late December
Most gone byMay 22-31late May

Best: late December. First arrivals early August; most are gone by late May. Peak: on about 2.8% of Wisconsin checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marcommon
  4. Aprcommon
  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%1%2%3%4%Jan 1-7: 2.5% of 27925 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.3% of 18337 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.1% of 17370 checklistsJan 22-31: 2.4% of 23777 checklistsFeb 1-7: 2.2% of 16656 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.7% of 18286 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.5% of 24739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.9% of 20113 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.7% of 24024 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.8% of 26722 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.8% of 27238 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.5% of 40171 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.8% of 34961 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.7% of 39128 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.7% of 38887 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.6% of 57231 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.5% of 55115 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.4% of 63098 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.1% of 49821 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.8% of 56796 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.7% of 33621 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 31282 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.6% of 30186 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 35128 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.7% of 27088 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.8% of 23293 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.7% of 20933 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.7% of 27595 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.9% of 19147 checklistsAug 8-14: 1.0% of 18286 checklistsAug 15-21: 1.0% of 19195 checklistsAug 22-31: 1.2% of 28229 checklistsSep 1-7: 1.3% of 22408 checklistsSep 8-14: 1.4% of 20857 checklistsSep 15-21: 1.4% of 20707 checklistsSep 22-30: 1.5% of 26469 checklistsOct 1-7: 1.5% of 21069 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.6% of 21011 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.4% of 20006 checklistsOct 22-31: 1.5% of 26362 checklistsNov 1-7: 1.7% of 18928 checklistsNov 8-14: 1.6% of 17052 checklistsNov 15-21: 2.0% of 16291 checklistsNov 22-30: 2.0% of 20564 checklistsDec 1-7: 1.8% of 15354 checklistsDec 8-14: 2.2% of 16294 checklistsDec 15-21: 3.2% of 21430 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.7% of 26314 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Buffalo CountyBest the second week of December · 10 checklists that week, 3,020 in all11%
  2. Iowa CountyBest early December · 260 checklists that week, 18,836 in all8.2%
  3. Lafayette CountyBest the second week of April · 39 checklists that week, 1,911 in all8.0%
  4. Waushara CountyBest the second week of January · 53 checklists that week, 5,880 in all7.2%
  5. Green CountyBest late March · 139 checklists that week, 4,387 in all6.6%
  6. Trempealeau CountyBest mid November · 47 checklists that week, 6,201 in all6.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Seminary Woods St. FrancisMilwaukee County, best the second week of April · 24 checklists that week, 530 in all45%
  2. Paradise Valley Wildlife AreaWaukesha County, best late January · 26 checklists that week, 848 in all27%
  3. Estabrook ParkMilwaukee County, best early December · 35 checklists that week, 3,253 in all25%
  4. Turville Point Conserv ParkDane County, best late November · 74 checklists that week, 2,067 in all25%
  5. Heckrodt Wetland PreserveWinnebago County, best late March · 66 checklists that week, 2,603 in all24%

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

Best time of day

In Wisconsin, the Great Horned Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 5 and 7 am (3.2% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (993) to judge1 am: too few checklists (844) to judge2 am: too few checklists (839) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1488) to judge4 am: too few checklists (5344) to judge5 am: 4.6% of 27016 checklists6 am: 2.8% of 83973 checklists7 am: 1.0% of 160717 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 160531 checklists9 am: 0.7% of 136968 checklists10 am: 0.7% of 119110 checklists11 am: 0.6% of 99116 checklists12 pm: 0.6% of 85078 checklists1 pm: 0.7% of 80688 checklists2 pm: 0.8% of 79140 checklists3 pm: 1.3% of 78599 checklists4 pm: 2.0% of 69767 checklists5 pm: 2.5% of 53229 checklists6 pm: 2.8% of 38769 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24396) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (10155) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4990) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2463) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1281) 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
January2.5%2.3%2.1%2.4%
February2.2%1.7%1.5%1.9%
March1.7%1.8%1.8%1.5%
April1.8%1.7%1.7%1.6%
May1.5%1.4%1.1%0.8%
June0.7%0.6%0.6%0.5%
July0.7%0.8%0.7%0.7%
August0.9%1.0%1.0%1.2%
September1.3%1.4%1.4%1.5%
October1.5%1.6%1.4%1.5%
November1.7%1.6%2.0%2.0%
December1.8%2.2%3.2%2.7%

Neighboring states

  • Illinois: arrives the second week of August, 1 week later than Wisconsin
  • Iowa: arrives mid July, 2 weeks earlier than Wisconsin
  • Michigan: arrives mid August, 2 weeks later than Wisconsin
  • Minnesota: arrives mid August, 2 weeks later than Wisconsin

Common questions

When do Great Horned Owls arrive in Wisconsin?
Great Horned Owls are winter birds in Wisconsin: they arrive in early August, peak in late December (2.8% of checklists), and most are gone by late May.
When do Great Horned Owls leave Wisconsin?
Most Great Horned Owls have left Wisconsin by late May, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Great Horned Owl in Wisconsin?
The Great Horned Owl is reported most often in late December, on about 2.8% of Wisconsin checklists.
Where in Wisconsin are Great Horned Owls seen most often?
By county, Buffalo County, Iowa County, and Lafayette County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Great Horned Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).