WhenToBird

Bubo scandiacus · Strigidae

When Do Snowy Owls Arrive in New York?

Adult female Snowy Owl
Photo: Andrew Bazdyrev, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Snowy Owls are winter birds in New York: they arrive in late November, peak in early January (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid February.

When to look

First arrivalsNov 22-30late November
Common byNov 22-30late November
PeakJan 1-7early January
Most gone byFeb 15-21mid February

Best: early January. First arrivals late November; most are gone by mid February. Peak: on about 1.1% of New York checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maynot usually seen
  6. Junnot usually seen
  7. Julnot usually seen
  8. Augnot usually seen
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octnot usually seen
  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 66410 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.1% of 49310 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.0% of 49919 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.8% of 62513 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.6% of 43526 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.5% of 49753 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.4% of 65147 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.4% of 50173 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.3% of 50325 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.2% of 55371 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 56293 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 82677 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.1% of 65295 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.1% of 73080 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.1% of 73857 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.1% of 106093 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.1% of 102772 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.1% of 110051 checklistsMay 15-21: 0% of 94797 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.1% of 101272 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.1% of 59471 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.1% of 55497 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.1% of 51761 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.1% of 59219 checklistsJul 1-7: 0% of 48226 checklistsJul 8-14: 0% of 42315 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.1% of 40637 checklistsJul 22-31: 0% of 57183 checklistsAug 1-7: 0% of 40461 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.1% of 39880 checklistsAug 15-21: 0% of 41146 checklistsAug 22-31: 0% of 63381 checklistsSep 1-7: 0% of 48640 checklistsSep 8-14: 0% of 47882 checklistsSep 15-21: 0% of 49063 checklistsSep 22-30: 0% of 57906 checklistsOct 1-7: 0% of 48447 checklistsOct 8-14: 0% of 51901 checklistsOct 15-21: 0% of 46717 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 61992 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 44593 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 42566 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.3% of 39675 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.5% of 51197 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.7% of 36567 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.8% of 37254 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.7% of 43754 checklistsDec 22-31: 1.2% of 62470 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 New York 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 New York

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Seneca CountyBest the second week of January · 682 checklists that week, 47,387 in all14%
  2. Clinton CountyBest the second week of December · 125 checklists that week, 8,764 in all6.0%
  3. Lewis CountyBest late January · 42 checklists that week, 5,920 in all5.5%
  4. Jefferson CountyBest mid January · 425 checklists that week, 26,171 in all5.3%
  5. Erie CountyBest early January · 2429 checklists that week, 110,645 in all4.7%
  6. Nassau CountyBest early January · 3825 checklists that week, 95,019 in all4.5%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Buffalo Harbor State ParkErie County, best late December · 81 checklists that week, 716 in all65%
  2. Central Park (north 17)New York County, best late January · 27 checklists that week, 426 in all54%

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

Best time of day

In New York, the Snowy Owl is most often listed on checklists started between 3 and 5 pm (0.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%12 am: too few checklists (1146) to judge1 am: too few checklists (1055) to judge2 am: too few checklists (1121) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1353) to judge4 am: too few checklists (4785) to judge5 am: too few checklists (32052) to judge6 am: 0.1% of 124869 checklists7 am: 0.1% of 298506 checklists8 am: 0.1% of 337334 checklists9 am: 0.2% of 307787 checklists10 am: 0.3% of 270801 checklists11 am: 0.3% of 233238 checklists12 pm: 0.3% of 213830 checklists1 pm: 0.3% of 193321 checklists2 pm: 0.3% of 180741 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 170348 checklists4 pm: 0.3% of 147224 checklists5 pm: 0.1% of 111962 checklists6 pm: 0.1% of 78261 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (44425) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (15648) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (4795) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2454) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1378) 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%1.1%1.0%0.8%
February0.6%0.5%0.4%0.4%
March0.3%0.2%0.1%0.1%
April0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
May0.1%0.1%0%0.1%
June0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
July0%0%0.1%0%
August0%0.1%0%0%
September0%0%0%0%
October0%0%0%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.3%0.5%
December0.7%0.8%0.7%1.2%

Neighboring states

  • Rhode Island: arrives late November, in the same week than New York
  • Massachusetts: arrives late November, in the same week than New York
  • District of Columbia: arrives mid December, 3 weeks later than New York
  • Ohio: arrives mid November, 1 week earlier than New York

Common questions

When do Snowy Owls arrive in New York?
Snowy Owls are winter birds in New York: they arrive in late November, peak in early January (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by mid February.
When do Snowy Owls leave New York?
Most Snowy Owls have left New York by mid February, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Snowy Owl in New York?
The Snowy Owl is reported most often in early January, on about 1.1% of New York checklists.
Where in New York are Snowy Owls seen most often?
By county, Seneca County, Clinton County, and Lewis County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Snowy Owl (counties with at least 200 checklists).