Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)

Abundance: Rare (3 records in 3 counties, 1 in Kentucky and 2 in Tennessee, each involving a single bird).

Status: Winter Resident; designated as an endangered breeding species by the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission (2004); sound records.

Information on Records: 

24 December 2000 (1 heard [cat-like call]) Ano strip mines, Daniel Boone National Forest, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton unpubl. data).

26 January 2002 (1 heard [whoo call]) Lillydale Campground, Dale Hollow Lake, Clay County, Tennessee (Ronnie D. Smith, Gregg Nivens unpubl. data).

27 December 2003 (1 heard [whoo call]) Warren County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Casteel 2005a), CBC record.

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: 24 December 2000 (1 heard [cat-like call]; Pulaski County, Kentucky; Roseanna M. Denton unpubl. data).

    Late Spring: 26 January 2002 (1 heard [whoo call]; Clay County, Tennessee; Ronnie D. Smith, Gregg Nivens unpubl. data).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: The variety of habitats present at the three places where Regional sightings have been precisely located makes it difficult to generalize about Long-ear winter habitat preferences in the Region.  The habitat at the Ano strip mines in Pulaski County, Kentucky, is varied but dominated by large, weedy fields interspersed with brushy thickets; some cedar thickets are present, as are some ponds.  This site appears to possess some or most of the classic winter habitat requirements of Long-ears, so additional sightings may emanate from this location in the future.

    The Clay County, Tennessee, observation was made in an area where fairly dense stands of mature deciduous trees on steep hillsides dominate; some cedars are present on the hillsides, and a large lake is nearby.  The Warren County, Tennessee, observation in 2003 was made in a rural area with mature deciduous woods, scattered housing, and open fields nearby; no noteworthy body of water is nearby, however.  Nothing about the habitat at either of these sites made them appear likely to harbor wintering Long-ears, yet each did so.

    In other parts of the winter range of this owl, for example central Illinois, it shows a preference for cedar thickets as roost sites during daylight hours.  If these thickets are near large, weedy fields, they are most likely to attract Long-ears.

Remarks: The December 2003 Long-ear in Warren County, Tennessee, responded to a recording of the tremolo call of an Eastern Screech-Owl with several series of "whoo" calls.  A Long-ear report submitted to the 27 December 1994 Warren County CBC is considered erroneous (C. Douglas Malone, pers. com.).

Counties with Observations (boldfaced):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited