Inspired by Life: May 2018

I recently took a drive down to Fort Lauderdale.  I had heard that there were Burrowing Owl chicks in a local park.  Burrowing Owls have to be the cutest little birds I have ever seen, my baby Redwing Blackbirds aside.  They stand no higher than a standard ruler.

Typically Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, deserts and agricultural areas.  I found mine in an old garbage dump that has been turned into a park.

Burrowing Owls create their homes by digging in the ground.  The Burrowing Owl is a protected species in Florida.  Wherever there is a roost they are typically cordoned off to stop anyone walking on them or getting too close to them.

They are curious little birds, who do not seem easily intimidated if they see you, however, if you get to close they will scurry to their burrow.  The Owl is constantly watching you, watching the air and watching how far they from their hole.  I visited 6 different burrows,  traipsing across uneven ground to get to the various holes.  Then for the most part I sat myself down on the ground and did not move.  Fortunately I have a 70-300mm zoom lens and with some post cropping you get to see a closer up image.

I did post a couple of images from 2017 – the bird regurgitating it’s food, and the bird stretching it’s wing out.

Typical cordoning off of the area

A sample of the general size of the Burrowing Owl.  The fire hydrant is a standard size.

The Owls typically come out in the day time, and will hover near the post in it’s shade.

This little one made a noise as I approached.

They are constantly looking in the sky for predators.

I love their big eyes.

This little Owl popped out once I sat down.

It got a little braver and came right out.

Then interestingly it lay itself down on the ground.  The ground is great camouflage for the Burrowing Owl.  However, there are other possibilities for doing this.  The bird could be cooling down, or trying to suffocate the mites that are on its body.

This little Burrowing Owl was at a different location.

I love the look I was getting here.

It’s room mate was cleaning house.

This was an interesting capture of the Burrowing Owl regurgitating the leftovers of its meal.

Doing some yoga and stretching.

Off to another locations to find this little Burrowing Owl out on top of the wooden post.

I am fascinated that the Owl will turn it’s head almost all the way around as it follows you.

And in this case it did turn it’s head all the way around.

This little one, like my cat, is camera shy.

This happened at another location as well.

At the last location these little guys scurried to their burrow and I stepped up to the rope to see if I could see them.

I sat down to wait and finally they popped back out.

I know there are a lot of photo’s but these little guys are so cute that I feel like it is worth posting them all.  I may well do another trip down there before the end of the month.

Thank you for joining me for this month’s Inspired by Life.    This is a circle blog although we are a little on the light side this month. Please take time to visit my friend Kym of Bubbaliciousphoto  and see what she has for you this month. Keep following the circle to see what the other photographers have shared this month. Don’t forget to leave a little love on her pages.

You can also find me on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and Viewbug.