South · Atlantic Flyway
Owls in Florida
Owls in Florida come down to 6 species with regular eBird records, led by the Barred Owl. Together they account for 136,995 of the 32 million eBird records from 2020–2024 — 0.4% of everything reported in the state.
The full list: Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Screech-Owl, Burrowing Owl, American Barn Owl and Short-eared 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 Florida: 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. Barred Owl (Strix varia) — 70,012 records, 0.2% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
2. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) — 34,201 records, 0.1% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
3. Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) — 15,480 records, 0.05% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
4. Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) — 12,419 records, 0.04% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
5. American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata) — 4,214 records, 0.01% of the state’s eBird total; a year-round resident, reported in every month.
6. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) — 669 records, 0.00% of the state’s eBird total; a winter visitor, present mainly from December to February and peaking in December.
When to see owls in Florida
Adding up every species’ share of state eBird records month by month, owls are most prominent in March, April and September and least in November and October. 5 of the 6 species are year-round — Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Screech-Owl, Burrowing Owl and American Barn Owl — so there is no month without them.
Winter visitors. Short-eared Owl arrives around December and leaves after February (peak December).
Attracting owls to Florida 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 Florida the owl most likely to turn up is the Barred Owl, a year-round resident, followed by the Great Horned Owl. Its own page covers month-by-month activity and attraction tips for this state.
Owls in Florida: FAQ
How many species of owls are there in Florida?
6 species of owls have regular eBird records in Florida (at least 25 records in 2020–2024): Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Screech-Owl, Burrowing Owl, American Barn Owl and Short-eared Owl.
What is the most common owl in Florida?
The Barred Owl, with 70,012 eBird records in 2020–2024, followed by the Great Horned Owl with 34,201. It is a year-round resident, reported in every month.
When is the best time to see owls in Florida?
March, April and September, when the combined share of Florida eBird records belonging to owls is highest. Winter visitors such as the Short-eared Owl arrive around December.
More birds in Florida
Owls in other states
Owls in Florida: 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: Florida 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.