West · Pacific Flyway
Owls in California
Owls in California come down to 10 species with regular eBird records, led by the Great Horned Owl. Together they account for 231,195 of the 62 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 0.4% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Great Horned Owl, American Barn Owl, Burrowing Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Short-eared Owl, Snowy Owl, Barred Owl and Flammulated Owl. Owls are mostly nocturnal hunters, so they are far more often heard than seen; learning the calls is how most people find them. Several species nest in tree cavities or old woodpecker holes, and a few use open nest boxes.
Owls in California: every species, most-reported first
Every owl with at least 25 eBird records in the state from 2020–2024, most-reported first. The status label is derived from each species’ own monthly share of all state records.
1. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) — 128,178 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata) — 43,530 records, 0.07% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
3. Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) — 26,987 records, 0.04% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from October to March and peaking in January.
4. Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii) — 14,877 records, 0.02% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
5. Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma) — 7,437 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
6. Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) — 3,876 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
7. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) — 3,744 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from November to February and peaking in November.
8. Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) — 1,055 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from December to January and peaking in January.
9. Barred Owl (Strix varia) — 827 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
10. Flammulated Owl (Psiloscops flammeolus) — 684 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a summer visitor, present mainly from May to July and peaking in June.
When to see owls in California
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, owls are most prominent in January, December and February and least in June and July. 6 of the 10 species are year-round — Great Horned Owl, American Barn Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Barred Owl — so there is no month without them.
Summer visitors. Flammulated Owl arrives around May and is mostly gone after July (peak June).
Winter visitors. Burrowing Owl arrives around October and leaves after March (peak January); Short-eared Owl arrives around November and leaves after February (peak November); Snowy Owl arrives around December and leaves after January (peak January).
Attracting owls to California backyards
You cannot feed owls, but you can host them: mature trees, a nest box of the right dimensions for the local species, and a yard without rodenticide (which poisons the owls that eat the rodents) are what matter.
In California the owl most likely to turn up is the Great Horned Owl, a year-round resident, followed by the American Barn Owl.
Owls in California: FAQ
How many species of owls are there in California?
10 species of owls have regular eBird records in California (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Great Horned Owl, American Barn Owl, Burrowing Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Short-eared Owl, Snowy Owl, Barred Owl and Flammulated Owl.
What is the most common owl in California?
The Great Horned Owl, with 128,178 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the American Barn Owl with 43,530. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see owls in California?
January, December and February, when the combined share of California eBird records belonging to owls is highest. Summer visitors such as the Flammulated Owl arrive around May. Winter visitors such as the Burrowing Owl arrive around October.
More birds in California
Owls in other states
Owls in California: sources
Every number on this page comes from the EOD – eBird Observation Dataset published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and distributed through GBIF under a CC BY 4.0 license: California records from 2020–2024, retrieved 2026-09-18. Species are drawn from the families Strigidae and Tytonidae; only species with at least 25 records are listed, and a species is called a year-round resident when its monthly share of state records stays above 30% of its own peak in ten or more months. “Records” are individual eBird observations, so they reflect how often birders report a species, not a population count.