Nature: Short-eared Owls wing it to Ohio in larger numbers this winter

Nature: Short-eared Owls wing it to Ohio in larger numbers this winter

Ohio’s six species of regularly occurring owls are generally much easier to hear than see. The big three in central Ohio are the barred owl, eastern screech owl and great horned owl. While barred owls sometimes pipe up during the day, and occasionally perch in visible spots, they are mostly nocturnal. The other two are far harder to stumble into during the day, but often frequently call after dark.

Two additional owl species migrate through in spring and fall, and occasionally overwinter. I wrote about northern saw-whet owls in my Nov. 19 column. The elfin hooters remain well-secreted during the day and are very tough to find. The vast majority that pass through Ohio are never detected. Ditto the spectacular long-eared owl. Even if your eyes wash over one, you might miss it. A long-eared owl can compress its body to stick-like dimensions and look all the world like a broken-off branch.

Enter the short-eared owl. Finally, an owl that can be easy to clap eyes on! The tawny-colored birds are fairly large — about the size of a Cooper’s hawk — but very long wings make them look larger in flight. Unlike their arboreal brethren, short-ears favor open grasslands and typically roost on the ground. They blend perfectly with senescent winter grasses, and about the only way of spotting a resting bird is to accidentally flush it.

Fortunately for wannabe observers, short-eared owls typically begin hunting before nightfall. Sometimes they hunt during the day, although more typically become active near dusk. But there’s usually still enough light to observe the charismatic beasts as they perch on saplings or road signs, or course about the meadow like giant moths.

The short-eared owl has one of the broadest distributions of any owl. It occurs on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. In addition, it breeds on the Hawaiian Islands, various Caribbean islands, and the Galapagos. In North America, it nests in the northernmost states, across Canada into tundra regions, and Alaska. Nearly all owls that appear in Ohio are migrants or winterers, although short-ears have bred here on occasion.

This is the winter to find short-eared owls. They are notoriously cyclical in annual abundance, as population movements are largely dictated by prey abundance. Small rodents, especially voles, are the owls’ stock in trade, and voles have periodic boom-and-bust cycles. Who knows where all of Ohio’s short-ears came from this winter, but they certainly originated in northern haunts. Crashes in prey populations sent them south, and they hit the mammalian Holy Grail, as meadow voles seem to be booming in Ohio now.

Anywhere with expansive meadows might produce owls. Good local spots to look might include metro parks such as Battelle Darby Creek and Pickerington ponds. Lots of short-ears have been seen at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area, about an hour north of Columbus. I made the image that accompanies this column in large Conservation Reserve Program grasslands in Marion County on Dec. 27, and at least a dozen birds were present.

I’ll beg forgiveness for saying that short-eared owl watching is a hoot. Fiercely territorial, hunting owls frequently aerially spar with other owls that venture near, as well as northern harriers, the latter a hawk of open grasslands.

Spats are loud, with combatants issuing loud barks like angry terrier dogs, or frightening screams. In between squabbles, the birds hunt voles and make frequent stoops into the grass. The miss rate seems high, possibly because meadow voles make grassy tunnels and rarely venture out of these runways.

Hunting owls may be relying more on acute hearing, and probably often pounce on the source of the noise, sight unseen. Such work isn’t easy, but overall, they do capture plenty of sausages with legs and the owls are a major factor in regulating small mammal populations.

I should note that their short “ears,” which are small feather tufts that are normally hidden, have nothing to do with hearing. The real ears are large hearing organs on either side of the head. The placement of the ears is asymmetrical — one is slightly higher than the other. This means that sounds arrive to each ear milliseconds apart, which allows the hunter to better triangulate on the source.

Sometimes, following a boom year for wintering short-eared owls, some remain to nest. It will be interesting to see whether nesters are detected this spring at any of the wintering hotspots. The last confirmed Ohio nesters that I’m aware of dates to 2004. Perhaps 2024 will bring our next short-eared owl breeding record.

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at jimmccormac.blogspot.com.