Short-eared Owl - - (Asio flammeus)

Wildlife Note Card Photography by Steven Holt

The Short-eared Owl is a bird of open country, preferring tundra, savannah, meadow and marsh. It nests directly on the ground, often in small colonies, and aggressively defends its territory from Northern Harriers, blackbirds and Great Blue Herons. Females perform broken wing displays to distract intruders who come too close to their nest sites. Short-eared Owls normally lay four to seven eggs but may lay two clutches with as many as thirteen eggs in each when rodent populations are high. Skilled mousers, Short-eared Owls are given credit for limiting mice plagues in sixteenth c entury Europe. Short-eared Owls supplement their rodent-based diet with birds, insects, snakes and fish and may extend their hunting hours in daylight during breeding season as they attempt to provide food for their young. Male owls have flamboyant breeding displays, soaring high into the sky before diving at a female. They bring their long wings together beneath their bodies and loudly clap their wrist bones.

Special thanks to Keith Iding for scanning the cards.