Banding of Asio Owls in south-central Saskatchewan

Abstract

During a long-term Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) banding program, 1946-1996, there were opportunities to band 507 Long-eared Owls (Asio otus) and 246 Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus). No less than 35.1 percent of the Long-eared Owls and 63.5 percent of the Short-eared Owls were banded in two unusual years, 1960 and 1969, after Microtus had proliferated under swaths of grain that lay unharvested beneath the snow. Such numbers are strong but not conclusive support for nomadism. Five Long-eared Owls were recovered (1 percent of bandings) but no Short-eared Owls, and there have been no recoveries from the last 280 Long-eared Owls banded since 1968.

Parent Publication

• Biology and conservation of owls of the Northern Hemisphere: 2nd International symposium

Citation

Houston, C. Stuart. 1997. Banding of Asio Owls in south-central Saskatchewan. In: Duncan, James R.; Johnson, David H.; Nicholls, Thomas H., eds. Biology and conservation of owls of the Northern Hemisphere: 2nd International symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-190. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. 237-242.