Owl fluttering near the ground (3)
I believe the answer is:
low
'near the ground' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'owl fluttering' is the wordplay.
'fluttering' indicates an anagram.
'owl' is an anagram of 'LOW'.
(Other definitions for low that I've seen before include "Depressed or base" , "Not high or tall" , "Depressed; near the ground" , "sound from Hereford?" , "Deep; moo" .)