Short-eared Owl

The Short-eared Owl is one of the world’s most widely distributed owls. Only the nominate subspecies, Asio flammeus flammeus, occurs in Oregon. This open country species breeds throughout the northern United States and Canada. The Short-eared Owl is a medium sized owl with a slender body and a rounded facial disk. As their name suggests, their ear tufts are very short and difficult to see. Adult plumage is heavily patterned overall. Upperparts are mottled medium brown and buff, and the breast is buff or pale with dense brown streaking. Females are darker and buffier on average than males. Buff to pale underwing and has a dark comma-shaped mark and blackish barred tips. Short-eared Owls have yellow eyes with a dark triangular patch around each eye and a whitish face. The facial disk is defined by a thin white ruff. Short-eared Owls are active day and night and are often seen hunting during the day, especially at dawn or dusk. These owls fly low over open areas and have a distinctive bouncy flight with deep wingbeats described as “mothlike”. The Short-eared Owl is a facultative migrant, whose movements are in response to the availability of resources either spatially or temporally

Overview

• Species Common Name Short-eared Owl
• Species Scientific Name Asio flammeus flammeus
• State Listing Status Sensitive

Ecoregions

Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley ecoregion is bounded on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Cascade Range. This long mostly level alluvial plain has some scattered areas of low basalt, and contrasts with productive farmland and large urban areas. It has the fastest-growing human population in the state resulting in challenges due to land-use changes.

Special needs

Short-eared Owls require large expanses of marshes and wet prairies for foraging and nesting including wetlands, grasslands, shrub-steppe, and agricultural lands. Across all habitat types it relies on the availability of small mammal prey. The Short-eared Owl is an irruptive breeder with low site fidelity with shifts in local breeding densities often tied to fluctuations in prey density. During winter, they utilize open areas, including pastures, hay meadows, marshes, and tidal areas, and may sometimes be found in trees or dense shrubs

Limiting factors

Short-eared Owls persist in small numbers in Oregon. Loss of extensive wetland (marsh and wet prairie) habitat is a key limiting factor. These owls nest and communally roost on the ground, which makes them particularly vulnerable to disturbance. Short-eared Owls are frequently struck by aircraft in the U.S. They also are vulnerable to collisions, especially with barbed-wire fences.

Data gaps

• Complete breeding season inventory of suitable nesting habitat.
• Determine habitat associations of breeding and wintering birds.
• Investigate barriers to Short-eared Owl movement.
• Collect information on demographic vital rates including productivity, longevity, and survival.
• Study the genetic population structure for the Short-eared Owl in North America.

Conservation actions

•Maintain and restore wetland habitat, with an emphasis on maintaining large patches and/or expanding smaller ones.
•Minimize disturbance at communal roost sites.

Key reference or plan

Population and Habitat Objectives for Landbirds in Prairies, Oak, and Riparian Habitats of Western Oregon and Washington. Read here

R. Miller et al. 2020. Short-eared Owl Population Size, Distribution, Habitat Use, and Modelled Response to a Changing Climate: 2020 Annual and Comprehensive Report. Read here

Miller, R. A., J. B. Buchanan, T. L. Pope, J. D. Carlisle, C. E. Moulton, and T. L. Booms (2022). Short-Eared Owl Land-Use Associations during the Breeding Season in the Western United States. Journal of Raptor Research 56:273-286. Read here