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 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 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 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 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 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 August 3rd, 2017 Big Island of Hawaii, near Kona