Short-eared owls are easier to photograph than other owls because they hunt in open grasslands.
Birds of the World on landscape for SE Owls
“Short-eared Owls live in large, open areas with low vegetation, including prairie and coastal grasslands, heathlands, meadows, shrubsteppe, savanna, tundra, marshes, dunes, and agricultural areas. Winter habitat is similar, but is more likely to include large open areas within woodlots, stubble fields, fresh and saltwater marshes, weedy fields, dumps, gravel pits, rock quarries, and shrub thickets. When food is plentiful, winter areas often become breeding areas.”
This gives a taste of the area where I look for SE Owls.
You can see how the owl doesn’t stand out from its environment
They mostly fly close to the ground looking and listening for small prey.
Short-eared Owls compete with Northern Harriers. They hunt in areas where there are many Bald Eagles, too.
This video shows how rapidly the owls can go from flying low and then quickly landing.
Birds of the World on prey for SE Owls
“Short-eared Owls eat mostly small mammals, especially mice and voles. These owls also eat shrews, moles, lemmings, rabbits, pocket gophers, bats, rats, weasels, and muskrats. Short-eared Owl populations tend to fluctuate in close association with the cycling populations of their mammalian prey. They also eat birds including adult and nestling terns, gulls, shorebirds, songbirds, storm-petrels, and rails. In Hawaii, the Short-eared Owl is a key predator of the endangered Hawaiian Thrush. They decapitate and eviscerate small mammals before swallowing them whole. They often take off the wings of birds before eating them.”
Short-eared Owl with a vole in a talon
The Harrier and SE Owl do a lot of harassing each other. This Harrier was trying to get the SE Owl to drop the vole in its talon. It succeeded by thrusting a talon nearly into the owl’s eye. see vole larger
Birds of the World behavior of SE Owls
“During breeding season, Short-eared Owls are active during all hours of the day and night; in winter, they favor low-light conditions. These owls forage mainly on the wing—flying low over the ground, sometimes hovering briefly heights of 6–100 feet. They are extremely maneuverable in the air, able to drop suddenly to capture prey or climb to avoid pursuers. They also soar hawklike on their long, broad wings, a flight mode they probably use for migratory travel. Breeding Short-eared Owls roost on the ground in tall grass. In winter the owls may roost in trees (especially when snowy), sometimes with other species such as Long-eared Owls. In territorial skirmishes, Short-eared Owls fly rapidly at each other, pulling up and presenting their talons at the last moment. Pairs of dueling or courting owls sometimes grapple with their talons, tumbling nearly to the ground before letting go. Short-eared Owls are loosely colonial breeders, normally seasonally monogamous. In courtship "sky dances," males perform aerial acrobatics accompanied by singing and wing-clapping. Males feed incubating and brooding females and defend nests with distraction displays and vocalizations.”
Owls are not restricted by any signs. ;)
Owls constantly check the sky above for threats.
Even when on the ground they continually check the surroundings.
Sometimes, the owl will run after prey.
They love perching on signposts.
A photo of a landing showing the back.
Closing in
The landing.
Taking off.
Birds of the World on nesting for SE Owls
Short-eared Owls nest on the ground amid grasses and low plants. They usually choose dry sites—often on small knolls, ridges, or hummocks—with enough vegetation to conceal the incubating female.
NEST DESCRIPTION The Short-eared Owl is one of the few owls to construct its own nest: a bowl scraped out of the ground by the female and lined with grasses and downy feathers. The nest is sometimes built atop one from the previous year. Nests are about 10 inches across and 2 inches tall.
Birds of the World on conservation of SE Owls
Short-eared Owl populations are difficult to estimate with certainty. There have been declines, particularly in Canada, but overall, populations appear to have been stable between 1966 and 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 2.3 million and rates the species 12 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of relatively low conservation concern. However, Short-eared Owl is listed as a Common Bird in Steep Decline, for species that are still too numerous or widely distributed to warrant Watch List status but have been experiencing troubling long-term declines. Short-eared Owls require large uninterrupted tracts of open grasslands and appear to be particularly sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation from agriculture, livestock grazing, recreation, and development. Habitat restoration programs, such as the Conservation and Wetland Reserve Programs, have shown some success in restoring suitable habitat for Short-eared Owls on private land.
A wink to sign off. Hope your’ve enjoyed learning more about my kind.
Clickadee here, reporting in from SE Michigan on my recent experiences with Short-eared Owls.
A parliament of Short-ears has been seen consistently since early winter at an area locally known as the Antenna Farm. I first read about this hotspot on the website of the Detroit Bird Alliance (formally the Detroit Audubon Society). I’ll admit to initially being confused by the name and exact location. My usual birding partner is from that area and introduced me to the spot a couple years ago.
The area is mostly working farmland, with a large, fenced off antenna array in the northeast corner. Hence the name. The fence is high, and topped by barbed wire.
The Antenna farm, looking northeast from the road to the antenna enclosure.
The farm is bisected by a north-south seasonal dirt road to the west of the enclosure, so it’s a good place to bird from the car. The antenna quadrant has generally been left fallow and uncut, so very weedy and brushy. The meadows inside and just outside the enclosure attract Bobolinks, Dickcissels, Blue-headed Grosbeaks, Horned Larks, Savannah Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks in the spring. The enclosure and farmland are also consistently good for Northern Harriers, Peregrine Falcons and the occasional Merlin.
Male Bobolink on the enclosure fence at the Antenna Farm, spring 2023
Eastern Meadowlark singing from the fence, also spring 2023
Just to the east lies Pointe Mouillee State Game Area. Short-eared Owls are regular inhabitants there. Because it’s a game area, hunting is allowed in the fall. Just around the time birders began reporting the Short-ears at the Antenna Farm this fall, the Owls were seldom reported at Pointe Moo. Local birders have theorized that the group moved because of the disruption caused by hunters. Whatever the reason, it’s been a boon to birdwatchers. Pointe Moo is huge, with only walking and non-motorized bikes permitted. As often as I’ve visited there, I’ve never seen a Short-eared Owl.
eBird hotspot map with the Antenna Farm circled. Notice how close Pointe Moo is to the east. The red hotspot to the north is Lake Erie Metropark. To the south is Sterling State Park.
Imagine my delight when my first try at the Antenna Farm paid off. As soon as we parked, we saw and heard Owls. (Here’s the All About Birds link to sound recordings. The first two audios are calls very similar to what I heard — something between a bark and a meow.) The only problem was that the rising sun was behind the Owls. Viewing and photographing is much better in the late afternoon and early evening, with the sun at one’s back, although the fence, weeds and antennas make for challenging photography. I had much better luck then observing the Owls (and Harriers).
A typical near sundown shot of a Short-eared Owl against the busy background of the antenna towers.
Like the songbirds, the Owls also use the fence, but for good viewing instead of singing.
What follows are sequences showing interactions between Owls, and between an Owl and a Harrier.
Two Short-eared Owls just after they had met mid-air.
A few minutes later, they were still circling and looked to be claiming territory.
On an overcast day the talons were out.
These encounters were often accompanied by vocalizations. In fact, the vocalizations alerted me to the presence of multiple birds.
The interactions with the Northern Harriers had a very different feel. Both live in similar habitats and compete for similar prey. Their hunting times overlap as well. Watching them was awe-inspiring, but also frightening. Thankfully, I never saw a bird injured.
Most often, a female Harrier was hunting the farmland. One evening we got to see a Grey Ghost. Bigger
This series with a female Harrier shows sequential frames.
Very short, but potentially deadly, contact.
It was hard to tell who was more dominant.
Both are very agile flyers.
The Harriers seemed to try to draw out the Owls near sunset, repeatedly flying low over the enclosure where the Owls were resting during the day.
The Owl appeared to finally get the upper wing and chased off the Harrier.
I’ll close with one of my favorite shots of these amazing creatures during the golden minutes before sundown.
Now it’s your turn to make a comment or add a photo. Whooooo’s going to join in?
