Burrowing Owls
For today’s travel post, I didn’t have to travel very far at all
– basically, to the front corner of our property!! For days, folks had been telling me about
some burrowing owls that have set up a homestead on our property line –
actually on our neighbor’s side of the property line!! So, out I went to look for them!
Unlike owls that I knew about growing up, burrowing owls are
different because they are smaller (up to about 11”) than regular owls and they
make their homes/nests by burrowing into the ground, sometimes using old
prairie dog holes! They can be found in
both North and South America, altho I don’t recall seeing any when I lived in
the Midwest. Everyone told me that they
had seen the owl perched on a blue post right at the end of our property, so that’s
where I headed, but didn’t see him either on the pole or on the ground. Then, a friendly neighbor out walking her
dogs pointed him out to me on top of a pine tree in our neighbor’s yard. I looked up and there he was! I slowly made my way toward him, glad my zoom
lens would allow me to keep my distance and still get a few decent shots. My
neighbor said the owl always seemed nervous when she walked her dog, so she
stayed to the other side of the road. I
did a bit of research and in addition to coyotes and snakes, both of which are
around where we live, cats and dogs are predators of these little owls.
As I approached him, another bird began to fly around him, sort
of dive bombing him. I’m guessing their
nest was in the tree he was perched on top of.
He really didn’t pay the other bird any attention. He was focused on me, slowly approaching.
Now, I’ve seen photos of owls in books and magazines, but let me
tell you, nothing is quite like having him focus on you in person! Again, I was glad I wasn’t all that close to
him, but I felt like I was getting to the outer range of his comfort zone, so I
started to back away. He then took off
and flew to the corner of our garage, it seemed, so he could still keep an eye
on me. He then took off flying, circled
around and landed close to (I’m assuming) the in-ground nest he and his mate
made.
I turned to photograph him at his burrow, and suddenly saw Mrs. Owl
standing there, too. Generally, owls
will mate for life, but there have been some occasions when a male has 2
mates. This couple seemed to have no
extra parties in their relationship, however!!
When folks have seen him (or her) perched on the blue post that’s close
to their hole, they are looking for prey.
They tend to east insects and small rodents. Sometimes this can get them killed, as they
chase the rodents across roads and are unfortunately run over by cars. They also will eat seeds and fruits. We happen to have a bumper crop of small
grasshoppers this year, and I do hope the owls are feasting on those!! Oh, and one other note, these owls are active throughout the day, altho most of their hunting is done from dusk to dawn.
As they both now seemed to be giving me the evil eye, I decided
that I’d totally back off and visit another time. I thought they might be guarding the hole/nest
due to having some little ones underground in the[NZ1] burrow, and perhaps that accounted for their protective
stance. Burrowing owls are fairly
tolerant of humans, and even dogs when they are in a more domestic setting (not
running around wild, I suppose).
After a while, I did walk back out along the road, to see if I
might be able to see some little ones, but if there are little ones, they are
still too young to venture out much.
Instead, Dad was there being a sentry for the hole. Welcome to the neighborhood!
Enjoy!
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