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Tag: short-eared owls

About & Status of the Short-eared Owl

Miller et al 2018 SEOW Annual Report short-eared owl cropped (image)The Short-eared Owl is an open-country, ground-nesting species found in marshes, grasslands, shrublands, and tundra across North America and around the world. They feed on small mammals (e.g. mice, voles, shrews), but sometimes they take birds. They are ground nesters, nesting in grass mounds. They are nomadic moving nesting sites based on prey abundance. Areas with high prey abundance can have colonies of nesting owls.  Short-eared Owls perform beautiful, elaborate courtship displays during spring evenings (click here to watch Neil Paprocki’s video of the owl’s courtship display).

Evidence suggests that owl populations are experiencing long-term, range-wide, substantial declines in North America, and the National Audubon Society Climate Program has classified the species as “Climate-Endangered”.

State status for the short-eared owls:
Species of Greatest Conservation Need – CA, ID, OR, WA, WY (currently be evaluated in UT for SGCN)
Species of Conservation Priority – NV
Species of Greatest Inventory Need – MT

For more information about the Short-eared Owl visit the All About Birds Website.  

For information about the short-eared owl citizen science project click here.