Showing posts with label Burrowing Owl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burrowing Owl. Show all posts
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: Burrowing Owl
One of the most fascinating birds to observe is the Burrowing Owl. A creature of distinct personality with much vitality and liveliness, this is truly a raptor that anyone would like.
These little owls are uncommon and localized. They are found in flat, open areas, including short grass prairie. They often reside with prairie dogs and ground squirrels, who dig their own burrows.
They hunt for small rodents, like mice and voles, and also enjoy insects and lizards. Unless they are breeding or have young, they are solitary animals.
Burrowing Owls
Keys, OK 2017
What few groups there are reside year round in Florida, Texas, the Oklahoma panhandle, New Mexico, southern California, and Mexico. Some will also migrate to portions of the west and even to southwest Canadian provinces.
The biggest enemy of the Burrowing Owl is loss of habitat. Many prairie dogs were lost in the 1920s due to rampant pesticide use, which took away one of the owl's symbionts.
Through extensive research, enemy mammals of the species were found, and it was also discovered that they did well with manmade burrows. Cameras are placed in and around these surrogate living spaces, which has shown scientists the hatching of their young and their private lives as a species.
Both male and female adults are the same size. They are about ten inches tall and weigh roughly six ounces. They are diurnal, and are found both on the ground or atop fence posts. They use dung both in the burrows and around them to attract insects, which are used for food. Known by some as the howdy owl, these birds sometimes appear to be nodding as a form of greeting.
Some Burrowing Owls even nest within manmade areas of cities, such as Tucson, Arizona.
There are two subspecies, Florida and the Western. They are not difficult to tell apart, due to range, as well as the physical characteristics. The adult Florida has a streaked crown and is darker brown with white spots.
What subspecies is this owl?
Burrowing Owl
2018
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Birding on a Shoestring: The Beauty of the American Southwest in Spring, Part 3
Ruddy Duck
Abert's Squirrel
Cactus Wren
Female Phainopepla
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Steller's Jay
Red-faced Warbler
Male Coues' White-tailed Deer
Female Coues' White-tailed Deer
Black-throated Gray Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
Curve-billed Thrasher
Buff-breasted Flycatcher
Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler
Buff-breasted Flycatcher
on nest
Ramsay Canyon Leopard Frog
Rock Wren
Coyote
Gray Hawk
Burrowing Owl
04-25 - 04-29-18
After almost a week, finally getting into the groove of the hunt for these animals, which is the most
pleasurable element on the trip. Having someone point animals out to me detracts from the thrill of
locating them.
During this time period, this was not all the animals located. Only halfway through this memory card, there will be a number left to show you. We're not even into some of the wilder creatures of
this ecosystem, and unfortunately we are in the wrong season for poisonous vipers and the Gila Monster, so there will be a return trip.
Some of the rarer birds include the Red-faced Warbler and the Buff-breasted Flycatcher, some of which the average person will never observe. It is my great pleasure to show the beauty of these animals, as well as the secrets into the nesting behavior.
The Cactus Wren, Phainopepla and the Coues' White-tailed Deer are also a sampling of the heart of the desert's finest denizens.
The odd little Burrowing Owl is also a wonder in the birding world, making a home in old prairie
dog burrows. They can be found in the western half of the country.
The Ramsay Canyon Leopard frog is also an amphibian from only this restricted area, making it a
true treasure in Arizona.
The Black-tailed Gnatcatcher is restricted to the American Southwest and Steller's Jay makes its home in the west, preferring mature coniferous woods, as dense as possible, but will emerge from their confines from time-to-time.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Birding On a Shoestring: Life on the Oklahoma Panhandle
Wilson's Phalarope
Stilt Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope
Ditto
American Avocet
Wilson's Phalarope
Lark Bunting
Western Meadowlark
Lark Bunting
Long-billed Curlew
Loggerhead Shrike
Pronghorn Antelope
Swainson's Hawk
House Finch
Juvenile Say's Phoebe
Cassin's Kingbird
Female Bullock's Oriole
Male Orchard Oriole
Chipping Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Male Pronghorn Antelope
Say's Phoebe
Female Black-chinned Hummingbird
Male Black-chinned Hummingbird
Lark Sparrow
White Tailed Deer (Doe)
White Tailed Doe and Fawn (Left)
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Ditto
Canyon Towhee
Cassin's Sparrow
Rock Squirrel
Mule Deer
Black-chinned Hummingbird Nest
Burrowing Owls
Burrowing Owl
Friday, 05-12 through Monday, 05-15-17
This was a trip that I had been wishing for a little over a year, and when the opportunity arose,
my heart was filled with joy. Photos were obtained from the entire panhandle of Oklahoma, which encompasses Beaver, Texas, and Cimarron counties. It holds a wide range of important ecological regions in the state, which makes it an unusual area for western and eastern birds to converge.
We observed long and shortgrass prairie regions, pinyon-juniper habitat, sagebrush wild lands, brushy chaparral, mesa tablelands, Rocky Mountain foothills and rock mesa faces. With these diverse and desert lands came a remarkable and wide range of mammals and birds, most of which I had never encountered before.
Unfortunately, I managed a quick look at one small lizard common to eastern Oklahoma and Texas and met a common garter snake. I had hope for a prairie rattlesnake, but that wasn't in the cards for
this trip.
Many birds were seen but not photographed, like the Common and Chihuahuan Ravens and Prairie Falcon. The Lazuli Bunting and Marsh Wren were heard, along with the Common Poorwill and Western Screech Owl.
As you can see, many beautiful mammals were captured and many birds indigenous to the region, but many more were not. Perhaps this will create a need for a future trip, but it took nearly a day to get
here. The journey was well worth it, and it enriched my first trip to this most important birding area.
These are lands that must be protected at any cost, for our grassland birds are in danger. We have seen great decreases in their presence over the years and the fight for their survival is great, including the Lesser Prairie Chicken. We must make saving their habitat a prime endeavor and you can help by donating to the cause and not buying homes here or destroying this habitat in any fashion. Please help me help THEM.
Perhaps you will enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. If you have an interest in this area, which I believe you will after seeing these striking animals, you can help by spending time at Black Mesa State Park and the Black Mesa Bed and Breakfast caters to birders at the Black Mesa Tableland region. Many ranchers raise cattle here and are helping to keep the ecological region alive and well. I tip my hat to these people for this and support their efforts.
Red-headed Woodpecker
Turkey Vulture
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Monday, 05-15-17
The grand finale before the return trip home was in Woodward county, just east of the panhandle.
These were all species found at home, so they were just for the fun of it, and one last hurrah. We tried for the Barred Owl, who was not co-operative, but she had young in the nest hole, so it wasn't her fault. Our timing was poor.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)