Burrowing Owl Images, Facts and Information:
Athene cunicularia
- Burrowing Owls are small (robin sized), terrestrial owls that have long legs, short tails, will hunt day and night and nest in burrows in the ground.
- Nicknames for Burrowing Owls include desert owl, prairie dog owl, gopher owl, ground owl, howdy owl and I like to call them desert clowns because they can be so funny.
- Preferred habitats for Burrowing Owls include prairie dog towns, dry, open areas, deserts pastures, areas with short grass including golf courses, yards, vacant lots and airports.
- Western Burrowing Owls have seen significant declines in their populations, this might be caused by habitat destruction, fragmentation of habitat by urban development, pesticides, rodenticides, predation by nonnative species and destruction of burrows.
- Burrowing Owls are listed in Utah as a Wildlife Species of Concern. In some areas they are listed as threatened or endangered.
- Burrowing Owls prey on small mammals, insects including moths and beetles and they will also eat fruits and seeds.
- They lay 2 to 12 eggs which take 21 to 30 days to hatch, the female owl incubates.
- Most Western Burrowing Owls are migratory, Florida Burrowing Owls are nonmigratory.
- Burrowing Owls can live up to 9 years.
I hope you enjoy viewing my Burrowing Owl photos.
Preening Adult
Title: Preening Adult
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/23/2009
Perched adult western Burrowing Owl
Title: Perched adult western Burrowing Owl
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/23/2009
Winking Burrowing Owl juvie
Title: Winking Burrowing Owl juvie
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/23/2009
Juvenile Burrowing Owl portrait
Title: Juvenile Burrowing Owl portrait
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/23/2009
Young Burrowing Owl with an eye on the sky
Title: Young Burrowing Owl with an eye on the sky
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/23/2009
A simple Burrowing Owl juvenile portrait
Title: A simple Burrowing Owl juvenile portrait
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/23/2009
Young Burrowing Owl on a concrete wall
Title: Young Burrowing Owl on a concrete wall
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/23/2009
Juvenile Burrowing Owl looking right at me
Title: Juvenile Burrowing Owl looking right at me
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/23/2009
Juvenile Burrowing Owl with a serious look
Title: Juvenile Burrowing Owl with a serious look
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/23/2009
Curious young Burrowing Owl
Title: Curious young Burrowing Owl
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/22/2009
Adult Burrowing Owl just after sunrise
Title: Adult Burrowing Owl just after sunrise
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/22/2009
Burrowing Owl adult and juvenile comparison
Title: Burrowing Owl adult and juvenile comparison
Location: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Date: 7/22/2009
Curious Burrowing Owl on fencepost
Title: Curious Burrowing Owl on fencepost
Location: Manatee County, Florida
Date: 8/25/2007