Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Endangered (Breeding) [EN(br)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Asio flammeus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Pontoppidan, 1763) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Species range halved between 68/72 and 08/11 atlases. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Little known on breeding ecology in England |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Long-term low density grazing to produce grass swards for prey species (voles). Early successional woodlands. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Investigate Short-eared Owl breeding ecology in England.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: North Pennines, Forest of Bowland, Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Encourage and support law enforcement to reduce the scale and impact of illegal persecution.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Develop and conduct a bespoke survey to determine the breeding population of SEO in England and use this data to consider and as appropriate implement the recommendations of SPA Reviews for this species. This should include both outstanding actions from the 2001 Review and any additional recommendations of the 2016 SPA Review. Up to date evidence is also required.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Survey to be repeated at least once a decade.
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.