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!


58 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

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

Sue said...

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

Hilde said...

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

NatureFootstep said...

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

mick said...

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

Dave said...

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

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

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!

Chaparral Earth said...

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.

Debbie said...

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

HappyK said...

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

Elizabeth Edwards said...

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

MyMaracas said...

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.

betty-NZ said...

I didn't know they had such cute faces!

Karen said...

What a cute owl! Great shots!

Linda said...

Such lovely photos, Eileen!

Leora said...

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

Anonymous said...

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

Carole M. said...

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

Arija said...

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

Anonymous said...

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

Tammy said...

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!

Carver said...

Those owls are so cute. Great shots of them.

AVCr8teur said...

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.

Montanagirl said...

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.

Carletta said...

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!

Claudia Moser said...

Royal birds! Nice shots

SquirrelQueen said...

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.

Bob Bushell said...

The most adorable Owl, precious.

Unknown said...

Awesome shots of this adorable bird!

Brian King said...

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

diane b said...

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

DIMI said...

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

Gemma Wiseman said...

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

Stewart M said...

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

Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW

Stewart M - Melbourne

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

Wow..gorgeous shot of this burrow owl!

Hootin Anni said...

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

Sharon Wagner said...

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

CabinGirl said...

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!

Gillian Olson said...

They are beautiful birds, your pictures are wonderful.

Anonymous said...

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

~Lindy

DeniseinVA said...

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.

Carol said...

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

i stora drag said...

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

MandaBurms FarmStay for Cats. said...

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

Suzan said...

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!

Anonymous said...

Great shots of these cute little owls!

Our Neck of the Woods said...

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

George said...

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.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

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

EG CameraGirl said...

Lucky you to have seen these owls!

caite said...

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

Gail Dixon said...

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

Rohrerbot said...

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.

Jori said...

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

Maria said...

Lucky you! these are hard to find for me!

Ana Mínguez Corella said...

Ohhhh!!! Adorable.. brilliant captures.. Cheers!!!..

Noushka said...

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

Anonymous said...

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!

Saturday's Critters # 571

  Welcome to Saturday's Critters!  Hello and Happy Saturday!  If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about ...