Return to Main Page   Dakota Birder Blog    

Short-eared Owl Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: Short-eared Owls have kind of a mysterious reputation for me. They're seemingly nomadic, showing up in force in one location, and then disappearing without a trace. They're not a species I ever go out expecting to find, and most sightings are a surprise. As one of the most widespread bird species in the world, I even have photos below of "Pueo", the local version of the Short-eared Owl from Hawaii!

My favorite photo is of a bird hunting voles over a grassy field, west of Brookings, South Dakota on January 2nd, 2021. Other birders had noticed several Short-eared Owls hanging around the Big Sioux River floodplain west of town, and I made the trip up to try to find them. To add to their mysterious nature, you don't often see them except near dusk and dawn. Most of my sightings have been within half an hour of sunset, when they suddenly seem to appear out of nowhere as they start to hunt. That was the case for this bird, taken about a half an hour before sunset, right before he spotted and caught a vole in the grassy field below. Photo #18 below shows the same bird right after he pounced on the vole.

Click on the small image chips below for higher-resolution views of a given photo.

Short-eared Owl - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 1 - Asio flammeus

Short-eared Owl 2 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 3 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 4 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 1

July 16th, 2004
Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 2

July 16th, 2004
Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 3

July 16th, 2004
Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 4

July 16th, 2004
Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 5 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 6 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 7 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 8 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 5

July 16th, 2004
Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 6

December 5th, 2005
Minnehaha County, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 7

December 5th, 2005
Minnehaha County, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 8

December 9th, 2005
Near Presho, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 9 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 10 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 11 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 12 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 9

December 9th, 2005
Near Presho, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 10

December 9th, 2005
Near Presho, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 11

March 18th, 2011
LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 12

March 18th, 2011
LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 13 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 14 - Asio flammeus

Short-eared Owl 15 - Asio flammeus

Short-eared Owl 16 - Asio flammeus

Short-eared Owl 13

March 18th, 2011
LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 14

March 18th, 2011
LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota
 

Short-eared Owl 15

July 23rd, 2011
Grand River National Grasslands, South Dakota

Short-eared Owl 16

July 23rd, 2011
Grand River National Grasslands, South Dakota
 
Short-eared Owl 17 - Asio flammeus  Short-eared Owl 18 - Asio flammeus  Short-eared Owl 19 - Asio flammeus  Short-eared Owl 20 - Asio flammeus 

Short-eared Owl 17

January 2nd, 2021

Near Brookings, South Dakota 

Short-eared Owl 18

January 2nd, 2021

Near Brookings, South Dakota 

Short-eared Owl 19

August 3rd, 2017

Big Island of Hawaii, near Kona

Short-eared Owl 20

August 3rd, 2017

Big Island of Hawaii, near Kona

Short-eared Owl 21 - Asio flammeus       

Short-eared Owl 21

August 3rd, 2017

Big Island of Hawaii, near Kona

     

Click here for the species description page for the Short-eared Owl

All photos copyrighted!  Click for information on commerical usage, or usage for other personal purposes.

Nature Photography - Done Naturally - Click for info

 Use the following Google dialogue to search this South Dakota Birds and Birding site:
Custom Search

SOUTH DAKOTA BIRDS AND BIRDING - LOCATIONS OF WEBSITE VISITORS

Please mail any comments/suggestions/additional links for this page to: Terry L. Sohl