Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Breeding Range. (Fig. 84). Uncommon and local on the Northwestern Drift Plain; rare elsewhere in the state.
Breeding Habitat. This species usually occurs in fairly dense thickets or groves of small trees or in brushy margins of more extensive forested tracts.
Nesting. Breeding season: Late April to mid-August; peak, early May to mid-July. Extreme egg dates (14 nests): April 28 [1923] in Ward County (Peters 1923) to June 16 [1902] in Benson County (Bishop egg collection catalog, Peabody Musuem). Extreme nestling dates (9 nests): May 20 [1946] in Ward County (Saugstad 1947) to July 15 [1937] in McHenry County (J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge--record file). Dependent young out of the nest were recorded as early as June 21 [year ?] in Nelson County (Bailey 1913) and as late as August 17 [1916] in Ramsey County (F. M. Bailey). On July 20, 1937, Seth H. Low recorded seven families of young on the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge.
Nests are usually situated in old abandoned tree nests of crows, magpies, and hawks. These nests were found in a variety of tree species including Saskatoon serviceberry, box elder, and bur oak. The height above the ground of five nests ranged from 10 to 20 feet, and averaged 15 feet. A good photograph taken by Russell Reid of a Long-eared Owl on a typical nest in Burleigh County is illustrated in a report by Stevens (1930).
On June 16, 1902, a nest in Benson County was situated on the ground in a thicket of trees; the nest was constructed of dead leaves (Bishop egg collection catalog, Peabody Museum). On July 7, 1970, a nest in McHenry County was found in a Wood Duck nesting box that was attached to a tree, 10-15 feet above the ground (R. C. Fields).
Indicated clutch size (17 nests): 2 to 6 eggs; mean, 4.6 eggs.
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| Figure 84. Breeding Range of Long-eared Owl. |
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/bbofnd/species/3660.htm
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Menlo Park, CA [caww54]
