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Platte River Status: A rare and irregular migrant and winter resident; 1 confirmed nest record. Tout (1947) stated that short-eared owl had been recorded during nearly every month of the year in Lincoln County. Rosche (1979) did not record this species in the lower North Platte River Valley.

Breeding Range: A rare and irregular nesting species in the Platte River Valley physiographic region, and the Rainwater Basin area of the Eastern Plain. We believe that short-eared owl also occurs at least occasionally in the Sandhills, although the largely crepuscular activity pattern precludes frequent and regular encounters with this bird.

Breeding Population: We failed to record this species on our random census plots in 1979-1980. Short-eared owl is well known for large fluctuations in population levels, sometimes annually, in response to the health of their prey population (Clark 1975).

Habitat: Nesting season observations of short-eared owl in the study area have been limited to expanses of Sandhills prairie dominated by sand bluestem and soapweed yucca, and to managed grasslands established to provide waterfowl nesting cover. Stewart (1975) stated that short-eared owl is characteristic of various open habitats including native prairie, wet meadow zones of wetlands, hayfields, retired cropland, and fallow stubble fields.

Effect of Habitat Alteration: Because of this species affinity for grassland-type habitats, we believe that the conversion of large expanses of native grassland to accommodate expanded agricultural production, has reduced the reproductive potential of this species in the study area.

Nesting Data: We have 1 confirmed nest record from the study area. Faanes observed an adult foraging over sandhill prairie near the Sutherland Canal, Keith County (T. 14 N. - R. 36 W.) on 21 June 1979. Extreme egg dates in North Dakota extend from 4 April to 1 August (Stewart 1975).