Short Eared Owls a Minnesota Birders Quest

The ever elusive short-eared owl had been spotted not far from my home.

Being a bird aficionado since forever I was notified of a short eared owl 20 minutes from my home. It took me a few weeks to go and find this bird. I’m not sure why because I hadn’t seen a short eared owl in over a decade and this species was definitely on my photography radar.

And so it began on October 26, 2024 a bird quest that I didn’t necessarily see coming. Driving to the area I was thinking if I could just see some shorties that would be great and any decent images were a bonus. Upon my arrival at about 4pm. I saw a short eared owl meandering over a field of grass. Within minutes I saw another one. Now I’d not been to this place before and since I love exploration of new nature spots I took a hike to the highest ground I could find. I figured I could get the lay of the land and watch for short eared owls from that high vantage point. Up on the hill I could see a short eared working a field quite a distance away. I was, as always, hoping it would fly over to my postion and look me in the eye at 50 feet. Of course this wasn’t to be but I continued to observe the happenings from that hill. From the hill there were other hills to the south. Remembering back to my school days I told myself these hills were eskers or were they drumlins? I figured that out with a quick visit to Google. These hills are indeed eskers as I viewed them. In any case the first photography opportunity came to me as a pair of owls came from behind me and flew directly overhead. Over the next 2 hours I viewed a few short eared owls in the distance and my opportunity to photograph them was practically none. But a flame had been lit.

On October 27, I again made the drive to “the owl spot”. This time I planted myself in the field where the owls had spent most of their time the day before. On the 27th the owls preferred the eskers as their hunting grounds. A few did hunt over the field and I snapped a couple of long range shots for grins.

Over the next few weeks I found myself at the “owl spot” about 9 times. Each time I had the luxury of going earlier. I did this with full knowledge that short eared owls prefer to hunt just before dusk. The owls just emerge from the tall grasslands almost like a magic trick 45 minutes before the sun goes down. But this is not always the case. During most of my treks to the “owl spot” the sky was a bit gloomy with only a peak of sunlight here and there and owls were active as soon as I arrived. Active, but not necessarily active near me. Being a bit impatient as a general means I began hiking the numerous trails each day hoping at some point an owl would fly right in front of me in the right light. My strategy was to hike a bit and hold in a spot for 10-15 minutes than make a move. I did this consistently over the course of 2 weeks. This strategy proved to be successful at some points and not so much at others. Often an area I left minutes before had owls right where I wanted them. But I wasn’t there.

The short eared owls move aggressively searching for voles and mice and they might move a mile in just a couple of minutes. I knew holding a spot might work but my need to move around was ever present and it was rewarded a few times. In fact I hiked that land over 30 miles in a single week. Such was my pursuit. I had a few fine images of these beasts but just as in fishing I had to better my previous best efforts. This continues to be a challenge that will once again undertake today. In fact I’m not going to rest until I get the images I hope to snap. But it’s not just about the photography. Many of the images are fresh in my mind, the deer in the field, the rough legged hawks, the young man carrying his bow and the majesty that is an open grassland, mostly wild, offering up tremendous views and an almost supernatural feeling of exuberance.

Over the course of two weeks I met other people on a similar quest for owls and nature experiences. Many carrying cameras with long lenses others just out for a stroll unknowingly in short eared owl habitat. I had days with zero clicks of the shutter on my camera. On a few days I had 600-700  shots to work thru. On one particular day I actually walked to my truck with the knowledge that I had clicked some worthy images…at least B level. But what I always walked to my truck with was an appreciation for nature and gratitude that I had spent a few hours in the almost wild grasslands of Minnesota.

Short Eared owls

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