Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Burrowing Owls

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes;

During my Florida vacation I knew I just had to see the Burrowing Owls. It was my only chance to see them, since they are not in Maryland or anywhere close by. Before leaving on our vacation I check Ebird to see where the Burrowing Owls were being sighted and with some luck on my side they were being seen not far from where we were staying on our 3 and 4 night. Oh, and I should mention it was a life bird for me, YEA!!


They are adorable little owls, I  am so happy to see they are being protected. I made sure not to disturb them by standing across the street to take my photos. They are living in a regular neighborhood with a parking lot on one side of them and the street with houses on the other side. A very public place and they seem to be happy there. Can you imagine walking down the sidewalk and having one of these cute owls perched right next to you?

The Burrowing Owl is about 9 inches tall and has a wingspan of about 21 inches. They live as single breeding pairs or colonies of two or more families. They eat insect, grasshoppers and beetles. The Florida Burrowing Owl is classified as a "species of special concern".

There were stakes sticking in the ground that this Burrowing Owl was using as a perch. And near the stakes were the burrows. We rode by some areas that had so many stakes and a few of them had the owls perching like above.


The sign says it is a protected bird site. I would think the stake also warns the mowing crews not to cut there. Also, no pesticides should be used around the burrows. I would also think with the housing development going on the Burrowing Owls are losing their habitats.

I hope you enjoyed my cute Burrowing Owls, thanks for stopping by and for leaving your nice comments.
Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!


59 comments:

  1. they're so dang cute! so glad you got to see them in person!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats on adding another bird to your list!
    What a cutie--I'm glad you were able to get such good photos.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A fabulous series of photos, what an adorble owl :) Lucky you to see it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. congrats to this cute little owl. Could not be better I think. I´m happy you found it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great photos of very cute owls. Wonderful to see them so close.

    ReplyDelete
  6. superb bird, great bit of luck for you, well captured and a lifer.... happy days

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm so glad you got to see them! Aren't they wonderful? If you were in the Cape, you weren't too far from our little canal cottage!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this post about the Burrowing Owls. I use to run across them in Imperial Valley all the time along Canal Banks where Ground Squirrels made the burrows and later abandoned them only to be occupied by these cut funny entertaining little owls.

    Thanks again for this. It made my day.

    ReplyDelete
  9. they are just too darn cute for words!! lucky you, you got some awesome images!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh what a cute little thing he is. I don't think I've ever seen one.

    ReplyDelete
  11. i have always been such a fan of owl - gorgeous birds. nice ones there. ( :

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lucky you! Congratulations on spotting these adorable little owls. That one sitting on the "Protected Bird" sign is a hoot. (Sorry.)

    We don't have them in Indiana either, as far as I know. I have seen a great horned owl and barred owls here, though.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I didn't know they had such cute faces!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a cute owl! Great shots!

    ReplyDelete
  15. A handsome fellow - he looks like he's putting on a show for us.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Congratulations on the life bird and great photos of such a cute bird!

    ReplyDelete
  17. fabulous shots of this beautiful owl Eileen. What a fun time you would've had with your camera that trip

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a cute lifer! I love owls and this one is so pretty with his speckled plumage.

    ReplyDelete
  19. They are cute little guys! Glad you got to see them.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wonderful photographs of the burrowing owl. I am happy that you were able to see them during your Florida vacation.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh, they are adorable! That's interesting that they live right there in the middle of a neighborhood! They are still on my list of hopefuls to see!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Those owls are so cute. Great shots of them.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow, they are such beautiful creatures! We had a number of burrowing owls living on the field around our local community college years ago, but unfortunately with the growth of construction close by their population began to drop off.

    ReplyDelete
  24. They really are cute little Owls. We've seen them here too, but not very often. I got some photos of some a couple years ago North of town.

    ReplyDelete
  25. They are definitely one of the cutest things I've ever seen. Your photos are wonderful.
    I like how they perched on the sign as if to be sure you noticed.
    I sure hope the protection efforts work. They're adorable.
    Wonderful captures Eileen!

    ReplyDelete
  26. What sweet looking little owls. I have heard of them but have never seen one in person, you are so lucky to have had this opportunity. I hope the housing development doesn't crowd them out of their home.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Awesome shots of this adorable bird!

    ReplyDelete
  28. These are awesome shots! Congrats on another lifer! I'd love to see one!

    ReplyDelete
  29. That is a beautiful lifer for you. They are a magnificent bird. I hope they don't lose their habitat.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hallo Eileen!What sweet looking little owls!!!I like owls!Wonderful pictures!!Great shots as always!!Have a lovely day!!
    Dimi..

    ReplyDelete
  31. Those powerful flecked markings make this owl quite a unique feathered character! Adorable photos!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Wonderful owl - I'd love to see this little bird!

    Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW

    Stewart M - Melbourne

    ReplyDelete
  33. Wow..gorgeous shot of this burrow owl!

    ReplyDelete
  34. What a treasure trove of excellence in these owl photos Eileen!!!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Owl sightings are my favorite. My goal in Florida this year was to see a spoonbill. No luck.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Oh my goodness. I can imagine your excitement, Eileen. Actually, I can't because I've never seen one of these cute birds ;-)

    I've always seen photos of them in a prairie setting, never an urban one. Very, very cool captures!

    Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  37. They are beautiful birds, your pictures are wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  38. These are wonderful! So glad you were able to see them 'in person!'

    ~Lindy

    ReplyDelete
  39. Oh my gosh Eileen, these are fantastic pictures. I can't imagine having these darling owls in my neighborhood. I think I would fall out of my shoes if I saw one.

    ReplyDelete
  40. So cool you got to see them :) I really enjoyed the owl pics, so cute perched there.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Wow, how lucky you were to see this beauty! Fantastic shots, Eileen!
    Thanks for your comment! /Pia

    ReplyDelete
  42. Once again stunning photos, quite a thrill for you to see them in real life too.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I've never seen this borrowing owl in northern Florida. But that's not saying much. We would only see barn owls. Cute little thing!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Great shots of these cute little owls!

    ReplyDelete
  45. They are so very cute! I bet it was so neat to see them in person :)

    ReplyDelete
  46. This is a cute little owl. I'm glad you were able to add this as a life bird. I'm also glad that the site where you saw them is protected, especially since there was a housing development nearby.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Hi Eileen, I love seeing the Burrowing Owls. They are adorable!!!!! What Cuties... Glad you shared them with us.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  48. Lucky you to have seen these owls!

    ReplyDelete
  49. what a cute little feller. glad to see they are making good use of those signs too!

    ReplyDelete
  50. They are absolutely adorable! So glad you were able to get these and share them here. :)

    ReplyDelete
  51. You nailed all of it Eileen on the head. I have a post coming up on this bird in a week or so about the same kinds of issues. Love your shots and glad you found them. It's a pretty amazing owl. They look slight different from our own here.

    ReplyDelete
  52. How wonderful! I am so happy you were able to see them. They are adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Lucky you! these are hard to find for me!

    ReplyDelete
  54. Ohhhh!!! Adorable.. brilliant captures.. Cheers!!!..

    ReplyDelete
  55. Fantastic sighting, Eileen!
    Congratulations for these pics of such a cute owl!

    ReplyDelete
  56. Hi Eileen, Yes, the Burrowing Owls are wonderful birds. My new area does have some (I have only read this and have not seen any here). I also used to see Burrowing Owls when I lived in Sacramento, CA many years back. Have a super day tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete

Hello, thank you for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.

BTW, Anonymous comments unless a name is included will not be published. Also, comments with links will be deleted.

Have a happy day, Eileen

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a ha ppy new week! "One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day." "T...