Recently, I had the privilege of seeing and photographing this Burrowing Owl, which is considered a rare bird sighting in Yellowstone.
Over the years I have seen wonderful photos of these cute and amusing little owls but had very little luck in getting someone to tell me where they were. Well, I finally did get lucky and saw my first Burrowing Owl recently – and what a treat!
The bird expert was out looking at the owl and she filled me in on some information about them. Burrowing owls are small, long-legged owls that like dry, open areas with short vegetation. They often live in burrows made by prairie dogs or ground squirrels. These owls eat small rodents and bugs and they very rarely prey on the squirrels. Their long legs enable the owls to run while hunting. They are only about 8 to 11 inches tall and weight approximate 5 to 8 ounces. Very small and you can look at one but not seem them, as I discovered firsthand.
I also read that when the owl is bobbing, it is irritated. I saw it bob to get a better look at a car that had pulled up. The bird flew off and hid when the driver pulled up next to me. Please keep in mind that it is really a bad idea to disturb a photographer when they are trying to photograph birds and wildlife – it usually doesn’t end well and you can hardly blame the photographer for being irritated if you scare their subject away.
This particular bird is probably migrating and will not be in Yellowstone much longer. I apologize but for its safety and due to the behavior I have seen from various photographers recently, there will be no mention of the location so please do not ask.
This is also based on the recommendation of the bird expert who said that she feels like the great grays of NE have moved their nest due to people visiting it while they were there. She said that people often cause nests to fail (not that this bird is nesting), and the birds to move on. Apparently, she has noted that vegetation has failed to grow under the great gray’s nest and believes that it is due to people standing directly under the nest.
Lovely shots of this beautiful little prairie-dweller. I used to watch them out by the California Poppy reserve outside Palmdale, Ca. Hugely entertaining!
Great pics of bird in natural setting. So difficult to get good shots of birds. Canoes and white tail deer scared off wood ducks that I was trying to photograph.
Thanks for sharing their story. what a cute little fella, love his eyes.