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Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:

The cryptic and elusive Northern Saw-whet Owl is often found by listening for the alarm calls of mobbing chickadee flocks. Perhaps the most common owl in central Saskatchewan during autumn, Saw-whets banded in Saskatchewan have been encountered later in Alberta, Manitoba, Colorado, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, indicating a complex migration dispersal. Saw-whets nest from southern Alaska to the Maritimes, south through the western mountains to southern Mexico and in eastern North America to the southern Appalachians. During some winters they may be found throughout the lower 48 states (Rasmussen et al. 2008).

Nesting Saw-whets occupy former woodpecker and other cavities in mixedwood or deciduous forests as well as riparian woodlands. Migrating and wintering birds may be encountered in all types of wooded environments, including shelterbelts and even cities-wherever there is dense vegetation for roosting or shelter and a supply of small mammals and other prey.

Nocturnal roadside surveys of singing males suggest the Northern Saw-whet Owl is an uncommon summer resident in the southern boreal and parkland regions. Except for isolated breeding in the mixed prairie and the Cypress Hills, the species is mainly a migrant in the south. It is rare during the winter months (Smith 1996).

Original text by Ross D. Dickson. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky

Read more about the Northern Saw-whet Owl in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.

LeeAnn M. Latremouille

Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Northern Saw-whet 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=NSWO&lang=en [14 Nov 2025]