sharleenstuartEncountering Burrowing Owls…
If you have never encountered a Burrowing Owl, then you are missing out on a real treat. Burrowing Owls are exactly what they called. They nest in burrows in the ground. July 2014, I had the privilege and pleasure, of observing these cute little characters. A friend had mentioned that she knew where some were and would take me to see them. I was pretty excited. If you have not gathered this by now, I love nature. I grew up taught to appreciate and respect nature, to keep a reasonable distance so as not to encroach in their natural area, and to only take photo’s.
Burrowing Owls are just over the length of a ruler in height and small in frame. The Male tends to stand taller than the female, and the female tends to be heavier in build than the male. That aside they look very similar. Juveniles lack the spotting on the front of the owl.
Our first encounter was a very shy Burrowing Owl. It watched us from the inner sanctuary of it’s burrow. Once we realized it was not going to come out we moved on to the next cordoned off area.
Our first glimpse of this little one was of it deep inside it’s hole. But the interesting thing about Burrowing Owls is that they are very curious and do not seem to be afraid of coming out when there are people around. The area has sufficient space between the cordoning and the burrow for it not to feel threatened, but close enough for a zoom lens to pick it out. Curiosity won the day and slowly but surely this little one emerged.
This particular Burrowing Owl seemed to be alone, or the mate was still hiding in the burrow, and we were interested in viewing a family of Owls and so we moved on to higher ground and a new spot. And this is where we came across a pair of Burrowing Owls, and all the fun began. This is truly where I fell in love with these curios characters. Enjoy their antics.
Sadly we did not get to view an entire family and most definitely this would be a trip worth taking again in late April after the chicks have hatched. If you get a chance to view a family of Burrowing Owls I would encourage you to take the opportunity and go and see them. They are amazing little characters.
If you are interested in seeing more of my photography take a look at my Facebook page or my Flickr Page.
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