General Description

By Nora Bryan

The Short-eared Owl is a denizen of open grasslands and parklands across southern and central Alberta. This somewhat nomadic bird searches for places where voles are numerous. In vole plague years, large numbers of short-eared owls might set up residence in the area.

This owl may be seen most often at dawn or dusk in open grasslands, brushy places or marshlands. Sometimes a cleared forest makes a suitable habitat. Low swooping flight, sometimes with hovering pauses are clues to identifying this medium-sized owl.

Voles are the chief ingredients in this owl's diet, and the owl's numbers are closely tied to the abundance of this rodent. Birds and other small animals are substituted in years when vole populations are small.

The Short-eared Owl nests on the ground in the cover of reeds and grasses. Four to as many as fourteen round eggs are laid in slight depression lined with dried grasses and feathers from the female's breast. Young are incubated for 21 to 28 days and the young are ready to fly in roughly another month.

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Where to find Short-eared Owls in Alberta   

Short-eared Owls are extremly rare vagrants in the Weaselhead/Glenmore Park area and should not be expected at any time. The few that do occur, however, will be seen either near Tsuu T'ina Nation fields along the park's southern boundary or around the shrub-covered flats at the west end of the Glenmore Reservoir. The potential for occurence of this species in South Glenmore Park will continue to be low as long as off leash dogs continue to be illegally at large there.  Brent Johner

Please Report the Short-eared Owls You See in Alberta

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Similar Looking Species Found in Alberta

• Burrowing Owl  - Athene cunicularia
• Long-eared Owl  - Asio otus
• Barn Owl  - Tyto alba

Short-eared Owl Behaviour   

Interesting Facts about Short-eared Owls   

Short-eared Owl Stories from our Readers   

A few years ago Joe and I were camping near Vauxhall, Alberta in a small campsite tucked in near a large windbreak of huge poplars. Once of us remarked that it might be a good area to find a short-eared owl. I'd never seen one in the wild although we were both familiar with this owl at the Calgary zoo. As docents we had often 'handled' the zoos curmedgeonly old McKeever. Maybe pondering a possibility makes one more likely to notice the thing being pondered. We'd barely pitched the tent than a short-eared owl glided past and landed on a fence post nearby. This must have been an owl haven because not long afterwards we spotted a great-horned owl high in the poplars.   Nora Bryan

Short-eared Owl Sounds

• No sounds for this species in our library at this time.

Recent Short-eared Owl Reports in Alberta

Short-eared Owl Hotspots in Alberta

Allied Species found in Alberta

• Flammulated Owl  - Otus flammeolus
• Western Screech-Owl  - Megascops kennicottii
• Eastern Screech-Owl  - Megascops asio
• Great Horned Owl  - Bubo virginianus
• Snowy Owl  - Bubo scandiacus
• Northern Hawk Owl  - Surnia ulula
• Northern Pygmy-Owl  - Glaucidium gnoma
• Burrowing Owl  - Athene cunicularia
• Barred Owl  - Strix varia
• Great Gray Owl  - Strix nebulosa
• Long-eared Owl  - Asio otus
• Boreal Owl  - Aegolius funereus
• Northern Saw-whet Owl  - Aegolius acadicus