SOUTHEASTERN NATURALIST 2008 7(1):1–10 Foraging Behavior of Short-eared Owls and Northern Harriers on a Reclaimed Surface Mine in Kentucky Mark Vukovich 1 and Gary Ritchison 1,* Abstract - Current procedures for reclaiming surface mines have produced many hectares of open grasslands. Asio flammeus (Short-eared Owl) and Circus cyaneus (Northern Harrier) are regularly found in such grasslands, but little is known about the suitability of these areas as raptor habitat. Our objective was to quantify the hunting behavior of Short-eared Owls and Northern Harriers, and characterize the vegeta- tion in areas used by foraging Short-eared Owls during the non-breeding season on a reclaimed surface mine in Muhlenberg and Ohio counties, KY, from 1 January–1 May 2002. Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls foraged in flight during our study, with no instances of perch-hunting observed, and initiated attacks primarily in areas dominated by either Lespedeza sp. (sericea) or Festuca sp. (fescue). Attack success rates were 7% and 10.9% for Harriers and Short-eared Owls, respectively, both within the range of success rates previously reported. Analysis revealed that areas used by foraging Short-eared Owls had shorter, less-dense vegetation than unused areas. The use of areas with shorter, less-dense vegetation by Short-eared Owls might increase prey detectability and increase attack success. The use of hunt- ing behaviors and attack success rates similar to those reported in previous studies conducted in unmined habitats suggest that reclaimed surface mine grasslands in Kentucky provide suitable habitat for Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls during the non-breeding season. Introduction Grasslands are among the most threatened habitats in North America (Jones and Bock 2002), and many grassland bird populations are declining at rates exceeding those of forest species (Herkert 1994). Populations of two grassland raptors, Asio flammeus Pontoppidan (Short-eared Owls) and Circus cyaneus Linnaeus (Northern Harriers), have declined over the past several decades (Sauer et al. 2005). Although few investigators have at- tempted to determine the reasons for this decline, available data suggest that conversion of grasslands to croplands, disrupted fire regimes, and fragmen- tation of remaining grassland habitats have been important factors (Melvin et al. 1989, Serrentino 1992). Although native grasslands are scarce, current procedures for reclaiming surface mines in Kentucky have produced many hectares of open grasslands. In western Kentucky, coal-mining activities in the Shawnee Hills (or West- ern Coal Fields) have converted large areas of upland forest and farmland to grasslands (Palmer-Ball 1996). For example, the Peabody Wildlife Man- agement Area (WMA) in Ohio and Muhlenberg counties comprises roughly 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475. *Corresponding author - gary.ritchison@eku.edu.