We have had an irruption of Short-eared Owls this year. Most likely caused by the extremely high population of voles for them to feed on. These owls are a little more active during daylight hrs so it makes them easier to photograph then some other owls.

Great shots , all of them, Tray.

Jack is going to love this .

Thank you for sharing.

Nice !!!

Great photos are you seeing a drop in raptor numbers in your area we seem to have a lot less in my area since the flu has been showing up.

Very nice pictures. thanks for sharing.

Sort of, No snowy owls or Gyrfalcons this year which is being attributed to Avian flu on the breeding grounds. Rough-legged hawks and these owls seem to be all over this year. Probably because they are primarily vole eaters and don’t rely on scavenge on sick waterfowl.

Great pics...thanks for posting.

Always interesting to see them hunt with the wing beat pattern they have.

When I was on the McKenzie delta the owls invaded there one year with a high lemming population. There was probably a pair per square miles with at least 6 offspring/ nest

As always, excellent photos Tray, and of course, your subject matter is outstanding. Here, no short-eared owls. The rough-legged hawks are slightly below average, I suspect due to the lack of snow. Microtines (their primary prey) are slightly below population averages as well. Again, great photos, sir!

Jack

Thanks Jack. Last night I observed a rough-legged harassing and stealing voles from the owls.