Short-eared Owls

 

A Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) watches for prey from atop a Honey Locust sapling. It was in the midst of hundreds of acres of grasslands. At least ten other owls shared its haunts, and at least as many Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus).

A favored winter activity of birders, your narrator included, is watching Short-eared Owls. The charismatic raptors move southward from their breeding grounds in cyclically varying numbers. Some years, like this, there are lots of short-eareds about (at least in Ohio). In other winters relatively few are to be found.

On December 22, I made a trip to an area in north-central Ohio that is playing host to many owls. They were on the wing by 4 pm, but heavy cloud cover meant the light was poor. So, killer photos were not possible, but I share some documentary images here.

A Short-eared Owl sits atop a road sign. As long as observers are quiet, the owls pay us little mind. I crept up on this bird in the vehicle, was able to get to about 30 feet from it, kill the motor, and watch. It was beyond dusk by this time, and light was extremely poor. Much post-processing was necessary to make the image presentable. But making great owl pictures is at best half the fun. Photos or not, Short-eared Owls are charismatic and always interesting to watch.I was pleased to see that an owl would habitually return to hunt from that locust sapling in the first photo. It meant that there would be plenty of action. Short-eared Owls are fiercely anti-social when hunting, seem to maintain loose territories, and don't hesitate to scrap with other owls (or other raptors). Several times passing owls would drop down to take a swipe at the bird in the locust. That triggered locust-owl to shoot aloft and engage the other in a dogfight, as above. Such squabbles are an aural treat, as the owls bark like angry terrier dogs, and emit low cat-like screams.A short-ear on the hunt. Incredibly acute eyesight and hearing enable them to pick up the slightest movements and sounds caused by rodents below.Quick as a wink, this owl pirouetted on a dime and dropped hard into the grasses. I saw many such hunting attempts this evening, and nary a bird came up with prey. The miss rate is often very high.This is a Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) runway. The burly little rodents are probably the primary prey source for Short-eared Owls and Northern Harriers, at least in these grassland habitats. Vole runways, or raceways, are tunnels in the grass that mostly are hidden by a grassy roof. Occasional openings, as above, will briefly reveal the rodent to raptors coursing overhead.A Meadow Vole dares to peek from a runway. A dash across open ground when lots of raptors are present is a suicide mission for the chunky rodents. Better to stay in the tunnels to up one's survival potential.