Prairie Hunter.
A short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) hunting a tall grassland near my home in Montana, winter 2025.
This species of owl can be found in open landscapes such as cattail marshes and tall grass prairie. It is partially migratory, moving south in winter and in high vole years as many as 50 can be seen in a tall grass area. Shortears hunt mostly at night but their is typically also hunting around sunrise and sunset. 2025 was a high vole year here in Montana, so many shortears were present. So far I have not seen any shortears in 2026 in areas where they were abundant during the high vole year.
This species occurs on all continents except Antarctica and Australia.
Prairie Hunter.
A short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) hunting a tall grassland near my home in Montana, winter 2025.
This species of owl can be found in open landscapes such as cattail marshes and tall grass prairie. It is partially migratory, moving south in winter and in high vole years as many as 50 can be seen in a tall grass area. Shortears hunt mostly at night but their is typically also hunting around sunrise and sunset. 2025 was a high vole year here in Montana, so many shortears were present. So far I have not seen any shortears in 2026 in areas where they were abundant during the high vole year.
This species occurs on all continents except Antarctica and Australia.