Ecology: Short eared owls are found all around the world on every continent except for Australia and Antarctica. In North America, they spend the breeding season as far north as the low arctic when there can be up to 24 hours of sunlight. Because of this, short-eared owls have adapted to being diurnal, hunting during the day, to adapt to this, they have evolved dark rings around their eyes to absorb light and reduce glair from the sun. In winter when days are much shorter, short-eared owls have been documented hunting around 4PM, closer to sunset. Further south, they prefer hunting in open areas such as Savannahs, prairies, fields, wetlands and dunes where they can easily catch voles, their preferred prey item. In areas such as dunes however, they have been known to hunt whatever is available including other birds like sora, sparrows, plovers and sandpiper. Being semi-nomadic and relying on unpredictable populations of prey along with the degradation of hunting grounds has caused their population to decline. In Canada they have been listed as a species of special concern because of this.
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