Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
There seems to have been a bumper crop of little owlets at many of the nest sites this year. One even had as many as NINE little ones! At one nearby, there were five. Here, one of the parents, probably seeking a break from all those hungry mouths, decided it would rather hang out on a roadside sign post than at home. Not a very safe thing to do but I can sympathize. 😉
😉 Mama Burrowing Owl flies and slides in at the burrow.
The lady here caught me – and her mate – a bit by surprise. I was photographing him as he was just standing there looking at me and I had assumed she was down in the burrow keeping her eggs warm.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see motion and instinctively start clicking the shutter. I only managed two captures of her as she came flying in fast and hot. Judging by the look in her eyes, she was well aware I was there too.
Perhaps these little guys are baseball fans?
I’m not sure who was more surprised by the close proximity I and this Burrowing Owl found ourselves in – me or the owl.
I was taking pictures of him and his mate at their burrow about 20 yards away when suddenly he decided to fly closer and landed not 15 feet away, right outside my truck window. He seemed pretty surprised at my presence although I had been sitting there for an hour.
This pair has become quite famous due to their easily accessed location and they always seem to put on a show. It shouldn’t be long before the female retreats to the burrow with eggs and then in a month or so little ones will arrive if all goes well.
For more pics of these cool little owls, see here.
As promised…. Very cool video of this Burrowing Owl. Best of all, some behavior not often seen as it performs a courtship display. He was hanging out on his burrow when another male nearby began a mating / courtship call. Not to be outdone, this owl hopped on top of a mullein plant and began calling as well. I took tons of pics but he was so cooperative I switched to video for a bit. It is kind of shaky as I was resting the camera on my truck window and zoomed in fully. Still fun to see and hear.
Such a treat to be able to focus this cute, male Burrowing Owl a few days ago. Last year I just did not have good luck getting quality pictures of these seasonal visitors to the Colorado plains. This guy and his mate changed my luck finally.
The pair was hanging out by their burrow a good ways from the road when suddenly, he decided to oblige me with a perch not 25 feet from my truck! I didn’t get any flight shots but captured tons of great images as he sat on a mullein plant and took in the sunrise. In fact, he posed so long, I had time to shoot a bit of cool video too – check back this evening to see that. It is well worth it.
Burrowing Owls are considered a threatened species here in the Centennial State. Their numbers appear to be on the decline as humans take over and destroy their habitat. Many folks think nothing of wiping out Prairie Dog colonies, a keystone species itself, but don’t think of the cascading effects of that on all of the other creatures down the line, including these little guys.
Burrowing Owl pair on a frosty morning. Yes, I said a pair. Look close. While the male was willing to come out and pose, the female opted to stay a bit concealed.
If there is a more entertaining bird out there I surely have never seen it. In terms of personality it would be tough to beat these little ones and I always look forward to this time of year when they arrive for the spring and summer. Last season I didn’t have much luck getting quality pics of them – hopefully I do better this year.
During the summer they can be found across much of the western United States. At more southern latitudes closer to Mexico and in Florida they stay in place year round. Unlike most owls, Burrowing Owls are diurnal (versus nocturnal) so it is quite common to find them out and about during the day.
The one thing sorely missing from my spring and summer photography has been Burrowing Owls. Denver International Airport and the U.S. Department of Agriculture were sadly all too successful in wiping out their habitat in my area in the late winter.
Threatened species? Apparently government agencies don’t care.
Anyway, I have seen a few that managed to find homes in private fields that the government couldn’t touch. My friend, Bill, clued me in on one spot and how best to access them which I did the other day.
They were pretty skittish as wheat had been harvested near them the week before and they likely didn’t care for the big combines that came rolling through. As a result, they weren’t willing to sit and pose for cute pictures like I normally hope to get but one did oblige with a flyover.
I struggled to get focused on it but did finally manage just as it went beside me. Not a great shot really but I am struck by how much similar it looks in flight to its big cousin, the Great Horned Owl.
A Burrowing Owl hides behind some weeds and grass. Sadly, thanks to the eradication efforts of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Denver International Airport-DIA, Burrowing Owls have become a scarce in the Denver area. Their decision to wipe out dozens of acres of Prairie Dog habitat have also wiped out this threatened species’ homes. Photo opportunities for them has plummeted as well. I did spot this one at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge recently although it refused to make itself fully visible.
This beautiful pair of small owls has staked out a nice home on some private property northeast of Denver, Colorado. Thankfully they should be safe as mating season begins and they hopefully raise a nice little family in the coming months. However, many others of this threatened species, won’t be given that same opportunity due to their choice of home location.
Denver International Airport owns a great deal of property in the area, much outside of the airport’s fences. Over the past month, a massive operation to wipe out Prairie Dog habitat and thus historical Burrowing Owl habitat and raptor feeding grounds, has been undertaken by the airport and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
One location that already had owls in it was poisoned and bulldozed, something that is entirely illegal. This is being done ostensibly to mitigate the hazards of a bird striking an airplane, something that is a very real danger.
However, DIA’s and the USDA’s actions appear to have gone wholly overboard. In fact, it may have the opposite effect as without raptors in the area, other birds like geese and ducks that are for more prevalent will come to the area knowing there are no predators. I searched the FAA’s bird strike database for DIA and found that raptors in fact account for a very small percentage of bird strikes at the facility.
It is rather disheartening to see such total disregard for wildlife, particularly when it involves a threatened species like the Burrowing Owl and protected species like the Bald Eagle.
They are back! The Burrowing Owls have started returning to the area northeast of Denver. Yesterday I spotted two pair at two different spots and I am sure more will be arriving soon.
Unfortunately I got there a bit late in the morning so the lighting was poor and they were a good ways away so the pics aren’t anything extraordinary. Nevertheless, this means more photo opportunities to come in the near future and I am very much looking forward to them.
