Great Horned Owl in February

February still feels like deep winter, but days are lengthening and the first stirrings of the breeding season begin — resident birds start singing on mild mornings and some early nesters are already claiming territories. Late-winter storms can be the hardest feeding days of the year.

For the Great Horned Owl specifically, February is a winter month inside the nesting season — one of the most active and demanding periods of this bird's year. Across the 61 states and provinces where great horned owls occur, what the bird is doing this month depends heavily on latitude — the details below break it down by band.

Southern states

absent

Mid-latitudes

year-round resident

Northern states & Canada

absent

In February, great horned owls are absent in the South, year-round resident across the mid-latitudes, and absent in the northern states and Canada. That north–south split is the defining feature of this month: where you live changes which version of this bird you're looking at.

February is inside the Great Horned Owl nesting season. Nest: reuses old hawk, crow or heron nests; also ledges and cavities. Clutch 1–4 eggs, incubation 28–37 days, 1 per season.

The season is broadly synchronized across the range this month. During the nesting months, adults switch to protein-rich foods for their young, become more secretive around the nest site, and often visit feeders in quick, purposeful trips rather than lingering.

• Rabbits, squirrels, skunks and other raptors

Nests in midwinter; listen for duetting pairs in December and January, even in suburbs.

Don't let feeders run empty during late-winter storms; birds burn enormous energy staying warm. This is also the month to clean and repair nest boxes before early nesters move in.

Full Great Horned Owl diet guide → · Best feeder for great horned owls →

In February, the best watching is around food rather than the nest — adults make repeated foraging trips and are most visible at dawn and dusk. Give nesting birds space: if a bird is carrying food or scolding you persistently, you're close to a nest and should back off.

The state guides below show exactly where in your region great horned owls are expected this month and which native plants hold them in a yard.

AlabamaAlaskaAlbertaArizonaArkansasBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaine