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.
The young Burrowing Owls I have been following and photographing are growing up but many of them still stay close to the burrows they hatched in.
You might wonder why I think it is tough being a bird photographer when it comes to Burrowing Owls.
I think I could photograph juvenile Burrowing Owls for two months straight and not get bored with them.
Leopards don't change their spots but juvenile Burrowing Owls do change their spots on their chests as they mature.
Burrowing Owls and American Robins are about the same size but they are two very different species of birds.
When I looked at this Burrowing Owl image on my monitor I had to chuckle because in a strange way it reminded me of myself when I first dove off of a 10 meter platform and how my toes were the last to let go.
I thought I would share some images I have taken of Western Burrowing Owls that I took over several days spent with them in Box Elder County, Utah.
The heat of summer has turned the green grasses brown on Antelope Island State Park so I thought I'd share some of the "brown birds" I photographed there yesterday.
I spent yesterday morning photographing Burrowing Owls in northern Utah again and while most of it was fun there was something I found that broke my heart.
Last week I posted an image of Burrowing Owl siblings that I found in northern Utah and today I am posting images of that burrow after spending yesterday morning being delighted by them once more.
Yesterday while wandering around in northern Utah I spotted an adult and then 5 sibling Burrowing Owls also showed up to perch on an old fence line.
I'm not saying that the Burrowing Owl I photographed yesterday was grumpy, just that it looked that way.
Burrowing Owls are arriving - Caution, Extreme Cuteness Ahead! Burrowing Owls are enchanting, entertaining and so cute they are irresistible. Everyone seems to love them.
The first year I after I moved to Utah was great for photographing Burrowing Owls and their young both on Antelope Island State Park and the causeway to it.
I often see this phrase "species in decline due to habitat destruction or fragmentation" or something similar and the frequency of seeing that phrase is most likely to become higher.
These words are as powerful and thought provoking today as they were 46 years ago.
Today I am focusing on older posts that have owls in them starting with Great Horned Owls.
Burrowing Owls have become harder to find on Antelope Island State Park than they have been in the past so I was happy to spot this one three days ago.
Burrowing Owls are one of my favorite subjects to photograph and to get one perched with the Great Salt Lake in the background was wonderful.
Western Kingbird After several days of not being able to photograph birds because of bad weather I was pleasantly surprised to have a medley of birds to photograph on Antelope Island Monday.
There are times in my life when I feel speechless in the face of the natural world.
The past few years I have missed seeing and photographing young Burrowing Owls on Antelope Island State Park for numerous reasons.
I thought posting an adult Burrowing Owl in flight taken during the summer of 2011 on Antelope Island might help to brighten my spirits as I dream of the sun again.
I have so very much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I see the most incredible things in nature, I am blessed to be able to capture it all through my lens.
Burrowing Owls are iconic birds of Antelope Island State Park, I can't tell you how many times people write to me and ask "Where can I see Burrowing Owls on Antelope Island State Park?".
Four years ago today I woke up in Grand Island, Nebraska and drove west to arrive in Salt Lake City with my possessions in a U-Haul trailer.
Western Burrowing Owls populations are declining, human population explosion and subsequent urban development plus habitat degradation has reduced Burrowing Owl populations by 60% and that number is still rising.
I wanted to share a sampler of bird images that I have taken over the past week in Davis and Box Elder Counties.
I can't resist photographing Burrowing Owls, I just can't. They are so much fun to see and observe.
Last week I spotted my first Burrowing Owl of the year, it was a distance away and I didn't take any images of it but I had to do a wiggle dance in my seat because I was excited seeing one again.