The Great Horned Owl That Eats Skunks Lives in San Francisco's Presidio
San Francisco counted a record 34 great horned owls on its Christmas Bird Count of December 29, 2025 — the highest total in the count's history and part of a rise from single digits in the 1980s and 2000s. SF Christmas Bird Count 2026 | Golden Gate Bird Alliance SF's Great Horned Owl Revival Began With a Presidio Restoration | The Frisc
The owls are common in the Presidio's Tennessee Hollow and at Mountain Lake, and they also turn up in Golden Gate Park, McLaren Park, Fort Mason, Lands End, Twin Peaks and even tiny McCoppin Square Park in the Sunset. SF's Great Horned Owl Revival Began With a Presidio Restoration | The Frisc
You can know one by sight and by sound: about two feet tall with a four-and-a-half to five-and-a-half foot wingspan, two tall feather tufts that are not ears, a white throat patch under a dark facial disc, and a deep stuttering hoot that starts around dusk. Great Horned Owl Life History | Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
It is the earliest-nesting bird in North America. Pairs settle in around January, lay one to four eggs, and incubate them for 30 to 37 days — and they never build a nest of their own. They take over an old red-tailed hawk's, crow's or heron's nest. In 2019 a pair on a Presidio webcam moved into a red-tailed hawk nest and laid two eggs in February; two owlets hatched in March. Watch a Live Webcam of a Great Horned Owl Nest | Presidio Trust Presidio's resident raptor is owl the rage | Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Great Horned Owl Life History | Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds
Its diet is the most varied of any North American raptor — mice, rats, rabbits, skunks, even other birds of prey — and it takes about 28 pounds of force to open its grip. In the city, an adult eats roughly the equivalent of two rats a day. Great Horned Owl Life History | Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds Presidio's resident raptor is owl the rage | Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy SF's Great Horned Owl Revival Began With a Presidio Restoration | The Frisc
This weekend, go at dusk to the Presidio — the El Polin Springs area of Tennessee Hollow, or the Mountain Lake loop — and listen just after sunset. Golden Gate Park and Twin Peaks work too. Stay on the trail and keep clear of any nest: local birders keep nest locations quiet on purpose, to avoid disturbing the birds. SF's Great Horned Owl Revival Began With a Presidio Restoration | The Frisc
Sources
- SF Christmas Bird Count 2026 | Golden Gate Bird Alliance — the December 29, 2025 San Francisco count and its all-time record of 34 great horned owls.
- SF's Great Horned Owl Revival Began With a Presidio Restoration | The Frisc — the population rise from single digits in 2009 to 29 in December 2024; Tennessee Hollow and Mountain Lake as the common Presidio spots; the wider city list including McCoppin Square; January roosting and December duetting; about two rats a day; nest locations kept quiet to avoid disturbance.
- Presidio Discovery: Watch a Live Webcam of a Great Horned Owl Nest | Presidio Trust — the 2019 Presidio nest takeover, the two eggs laid on February 5 and February 9, and the two owlets that hatched in March.
- Presidio's resident raptor is owl the rage | Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy — the 28 pounds of force needed to open the grip; nest adoption; one to four eggs by late winter and the 30-to-37-day incubation; owls leaving the nest at 9 to 10 weeks.
- Great Horned Owl Life History | Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds — the field marks and the yellow-eyed stare; the most varied diet of any North American raptor, skunks included; adopting the nests of hawks, crows, ravens, herons and squirrels; clutch and incubation; hooting at dusk and through the night.
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