Long-eared owls are more or less strictly nocturnal in activity.
Usually activity for the species commences at dusk.
After nightfall long-eared owls in Idaho were least active from 8-10 pm and from 5-6 am, while the hours around 10-12 pm and 3-5 am were often the peak times of activity.
When living relatively close to the Arctic, long-eared owls may be forced to forage during daylight as no full nightfall may occur during summer.
When flying by day, long-eared owls are often mobbed by diurnal birds such as corvids and other birds of prey.
Often long-eared owls will discharge a fairly large amount of pellets and drop them below regular day roosts.
Unlike most other owls, the species has no territorial hunting ground.
In Switzerland, 14 long-eared owls examined using radiotelemetry were found to have an average home range of 980 ha (3.8 sq mi).
In the study, they required fields along borders of woodlands, avoiding completely treeless areas more so than they were prevalent in the environment.
In the České Budějovice area of Czech Republic, 9 radiotagged owls were studied.
Nearly equal numbers were found in suburban and urban areas, and urban ones used developed areas for more than 50% of their nocturnal activity while suburban ones used developed areas for less than half of their activities.
Similar habitats were favored by both urban and suburban owls but urban owls had to range wider to avoid heavy human activity and access city parks and so had larger average ranges, 446 ha (1.72 sq mi) vs 56 ha (0.22 sq mi), while suburban ones had easier access to meadows and stands of woods.
Long-eared owls are more or less strictly nocturnal in activity. Usually activity for the species commences at dusk. After nightfall long-eared owls in Idaho were least active from 8-10 pm and from 5-6 am, while the hours around 10-12 pm and 3-5 am were often the peak times of activity. When living relatively close to the Arctic, long-eared owls may be forced to forage during daylight as no full nightfall may occur during summer. When flying by day, long-eared owls are often mobbed by diurnal birds such as corvids and other birds of prey. Often long-eared owls will discharge a fairly large amount of pellets and drop them below regular day roosts. Unlike most other owls, the species has no territorial hunting ground. In Switzerland, 14 long-eared owls examined using radiotelemetry were found to have an average home range of 980 ha (3.8 sq mi). In the study, they required fields along borders of woodlands, avoiding completely treeless areas more so than they were prevalent in the environment. In the České Budějovice area of Czech Republic, 9 radiotagged owls were studied. Nearly equal numbers were found in suburban and urban areas, and urban ones used developed areas for more than 50% of their nocturnal activity while suburban ones used developed areas for less than half of their activities. Similar habitats were favored by both urban and suburban owls but urban owls had to range wider to avoid heavy human activity and access city parks and so had larger average ranges, 446 ha (1.72 sq mi) vs 56 ha (0.22 sq mi), while suburban ones had easier access to meadows and stands of woods.
Long-eared owl