Long-eared owls are secretive nocturnal raptors that nest in old corvid and raptor nests at forest edges, hunting over open areas adjacent to woodland. Their welfare is linked to both adequate nest sites and open grassland prey habitat.
Long-eared owls that cannot locate appropriate old stick nests at forest edges have no alternative nesting strategy. Loss of forest edge habitat through clear-felling eliminates both nest sites and hunting habitat in a single management event. Winter food availability depends on small mammal populations in rough grassland adjacent to woodland. Welfare monitoring is complicated by the species secretive nature, making welfare problems difficult to detect and quantify.