 Breeding evidence |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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-3.87 (-5.61 - -2.2)|
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]
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Atlas Results
Short-eared Owls were found in 61 atlas squares scattered across the southern two-thirds of the province. Far from being common, they were most often seen in the Mixed and Moist-Mixed Grassland ecoregions. Short-eared Owls were found as far north as the Mudjatik River in two squares north of where its meandering course meets the Churchill River. Breeding was confirmed in only four squares; two nests were in crop, one in tame pasture, and a clutch of recently fledged young were provisioned with food in a dry wetland basin.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
The Short-eared Owl is one of the most widely distributed owl species in the world, breeding on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. While many Short-eared Owls presumably migrate north to the Arctic tundra to breed, quite a few remain in Saskatchewan in years when small rodents are abundant. In North America it nests from the Low Arctic to the central US, and in the Greater Antilles; during the winter it is found from extreme southern Canada to central Mexico (AOU 1998).
Short-eared Owls inhabit grasslands, croplands, marshes, and open bogs or recent burns in treed areas. In the Saskatoon area "during 1969, a record 21 nests were found in stubble?; none were found in typical sites such as tall grassy meadows or low shrubs which offer some vegetative cover to conceal the female (Leighton et al. 2002, Wiggins et al. 2006).
The Short-eared Owl breeds widely, but uncommonly, across southern and central portions of Saskatchewan, with a few scattered summer records north into the boreal forest zone or beyond (Smith 1996). During winter, it is found in open country south of the boreal forest. This is a species of Special Concern nationally, the population declining since the early 1970s (COSEWIC 2008a). Because population numbers vary cyclically, long-term trends are difficult to determine.
Original text by Ross D. Dickson. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Short-eared Owl in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Short-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=SEOW&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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