 Breeding evidence |
||
Click for a larger version or to add map overlays |
||
Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
|
Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
|
|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Atlas Results
As depicted in the Birds of Saskatchewan, Long-eared Owls were documented from the fringes of the boreal forest south, becoming sparse in the more arid south and western portions of the province. Unexpectedly, two detections were made in the far north near Wollaston lake in 2018 and 2019, though consistent with scattered northern records from Alberta and Manitoba. Detections from bioacoustics recorders set to record periodically in the early spring added records in six squares, five in the boreal fringe and one in a coulee near the Frenchman River.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
This mid-sized, mainly nocturnal owl occurs in sparsely forested habitats across North America and Eurasia. Its main food is small mammals, mainly voles and mice. In Saskatchewan its nest sites are primarily those built by Crows or Magpies, some close to human habitation. Breeds across Canada from the Yukon to Quebec and south in western US to Mexico. Winters across the US and most of Mexico.
Long-eared Owls occur in semi-open habitats: aspen groves, wooded coulees, and farmsteads (Smith 1996).
The Long-eared Owl is a fairly common but irregular summer resident of the parklands, while in the grasslands and southern fringes of the southern boreal region it is uncommon and local. There are only a few records from the northern boreal region suggesting that there is perhaps continuity with those found in the southern Northwest Territories (Smith 1996).
Original text by Martin J. Stoffel. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Long-eared Owl in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Long-eared Owl in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=LEOW&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
| Previous species: Great Gray Owl | Table of Contents | Next species: Short-eared Owl |