Short-eared Owl

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Short-eared Owl in the UK

The Short-eared Owl is a scarce resident and winter visitor. The breeding estimate is wide, 620 to 2,200 pairs, because it is nomadic: pairs settle where Field Voles are abundant and may breed somewhere else the next year. The core is the moors and rough grassland of northern England and Scotland, including Orkney and the Uists. Breeding range has shrunk by almost half since the 1968-72 atlas, and it is Amber-listed. From September, birds from Scandinavia and further east cross the North Sea, and numbers on lowland coasts vary a lot from one winter to the next.

Where and when to see a Short-eared Owl

In winter, try coastal grazing marsh, saltmarsh, rough grassland and fens from November to March. RSPB reserves known for them include Parkgate on the Dee Estuary, Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire, the Nene Washes in Cambridgeshire and Loch Leven in Perth and Kinross. The last two hours of daylight are best, on dry afternoons with light wind. Rain and gales keep them down. In summer, Orkney is the easiest place, with birds hunting moorland by day. Watch from paths and roads and never walk rough ground to flush one.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Moorland, coastal grassland.
Diet: Voles.
Field note: Hunts in daylight; floppy flight.

How to identify a Short-eared Owl

About the size of a Barn Owl but longer-winged. The face is pale with yellow eyes set in black surrounds, giving a fierce, glaring look. The upperparts are mottled sandy-buff and brown, the belly pale with streaks on the upper breast only. In flight the long, narrow wings show a dark comma at the wrist and solid black tips, like they have been dipped in ink, with a pale trailing edge. It flies low with slow, deep, rowing beats and glides on raised wings. The short ear tufts are rarely visible.

Call and song

Mostly silent in winter. When two birds clash, or a harrier comes close, it gives a hoarse, rasping bark, "chef-chef". On breeding grounds the male gives a low, pumping "boo-boo-boo-boo" in display flight and claps his wings beneath him. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Long-eared Owl: Long-eared has orange eyes, an evenly streaked belly, finely barred wingtips with no solid black tips, and is strictly nocturnal.
• Barn Owl: Barn Owl is ghostly pale with a white heart-shaped face, black eyes and unmarked white underwings.
• Hen Harrier: A ringtail Hen Harrier quartering the same marsh has a longer tail and a clear white band across the rump.

Related guide UK raptors and owls.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Short-eared Owl is an Uncommon tier bird, worth +3 points when you log one. It is Amber-listed in Birds of Conservation Concern 5, the middle level of concern in the UK.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Long-eared OwlRare · Conifer plantations
• Barnacle GooseUncommon · Coastal grassland (winter)
• Rough-legged BuzzardRare · Coastal grassland (winter)
• Hen HarrierRare · Moorland
• Barn OwlUncommon · Rough grassland
• Black-tailed GodwitUncommon · Wet grassland

Short-eared Owl: quick answers

When is the best time to see a Short-eared Owl?

Winter afternoons, from November to early March. Arrivals from the Continent peak in October on easterly winds, and birds then settle wherever voles are plentiful. Numbers swing from year to year, so a site with six one winter may have none the next.

Do Short-eared Owls hunt in the daytime?

Yes, more than any other British owl apart from the Little Owl. They hunt mainly at dawn and dusk but are often out in full daylight, in winter and when feeding chicks. That makes them the owl you are most likely to watch well.

What does a Short-eared Owl eat?

Field Voles make up most of the diet, and breeding success follows the vole cycle. It also takes mice, shrews, young Rabbits and small birds, and switches to these when voles crash.

Kit that helps

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