Owls in Indiana: where to see them and how to identify them

Owls are widespread in Indiana, but your best bets are large tracts of mature forest. Hoosier National Forest in the south and Morgan-Monroe State Forest in the central part of the state hold healthy populations. Barred owls favor swampy woodlands, while great horned owls stick to mixed forests and even suburban parks. Field edges and river corridors along the Wabash and Ohio Rivers are also reliable. Check out the Indiana wildlife page for more state-specific resources.

In Indiana, owls sightings usually improve when you slow down and match your first stop to where in the state sightings are most likely. Use the state wildlife hub and the route guide to narrow your first area, then check access, weather, and distance before you settle in. A short walk with one clear viewing plan often beats covering too much ground, especially when habitat changes fast from open edges to brush, wetlands, timber, shoreline, or neighborhood cover.

Late fall through early spring offers the best odds because leaves are down, making owls easier to spot. They are most active at dusk and dawn, but on cloudy winter days you might find them roosting. Great horned owls start nesting as early as January, so you may see them sitting on nests in late winter. Always approach quietly and listen for calls.

Indiana has seven regular owl species. The great horned owl is large with ear tufts and yellow eyes. The barred owl has no ear tufts and barring on its chest, and calls 'who cooks for you.' The Eastern screech-owl is small with ear tufts and comes in gray and red morphs. Compare them to the great horned versus barred using size and call. For help with hawk lookalikes, see our hawk identification guide.

See our state animal guide for the next step.

Besides the three above, you might see short-eared owls in winter over grasslands, long-eared owls in dense pine stands, snowy owls during irruption years along Lake Michigan, and the rare barn owl in open farmland. For a complete list and range maps, visit the general owl page.

Learn the calls of the three common owls before you go. The barred owl's eight-hoot call is unmistakable. The great horned owl gives a deep, five-note hoot. Eastern screech-owls whinny like a horse. Stand still at dusk in a wooded area and play a recording softly if legal, but be cautious not to disturb. Listen for mobbing songbirds that may reveal an owl's daytime roost.