Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) photos by Larry Jordan
I recently gave a presentation on the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) for the Redbud Audubon Society, located on Clear Lake in Lake County California. This Audubon chapter has a very vibrant membership and I had a lot of fun while visiting the area. You will hear more about my trip in upcoming posts. As usual, click on photos for full sized images.
Clear Lake being only about two hours from Davis gave me the opportunity to look in on the owls that reside there on Wildhorse Golf Course. Whenever I get anywhere near Davis I can’t help myself. I have to see how they are doing.
Unfortunately, this day I didn’t make it to the site until about 2 pm, nearing the hottest part of the day. Burrowing Owls are active both day and night but tend to retreat to their burrows when it is this hot in direct sun.
There were plenty of California Ground Squirrels running around though. I must have seen over 30 squirrels darting in and out of burrows, running along their well worn pathways through the grass.
This individual was the only owl I saw. I didn’t realize until I got home and looked at these images on the computer that it was banded. I have some feelers out to find out if anyone knows where this owl may be from.
What I really wanted to do was to get some video of the Burrowing Owls in flight with my new Panasonic HDC-SD90 high definition video camera. I am just learning how to use it and will most likely write a review on the camera once I get the hang of it.
What I did manage to record was this owl, standing at a burrow, while a squirrel approached from behind. It shows how nonchalant these two species are when in close proximity to one another.
To me this video shows that these two species actually share a symbiotic relationship. At the end of the video, feeling like the owl was getting ready to take flight, I did zoom out and catch a short segment of bird flight. Nothing to write home about I’m afraid.
At the 42 second mark a golf cart drives by about ten yards from the pair and the squirrel dives into the burrow, only to reappear 10 seconds later. The owl however, seems much more interested in exactly what the heck I am doing.
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so cool! the squirrel tries to rouse the owl, but the owl’s just not interested so they just ‘chill’ together. amazing. really enjoyed seeing them. 🙂
@Theresa I thought it was a pretty cool encounter too! I have seen these species interact before but never witnessed a one on one passive encounter like this
A wonderful post Larry and well done with the video clip….a lovely capture and it must have been amazing to witness.
Great post Larry!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
Great photos and video. Lovely to be able to watch the interaction between the species.
@Andrew thank you very much. It was very cool to watch the two, with the squirrel flipping its tail and the owl seemingly uninterested
@Gary thanks
@Mick thank you. I am now in the process of trying to find out if anyone recognizes the bands on the owl. If I would have noticed them at the time I took the photos, I would have tried to get a better look at the bands
Wonderful shots of the burrowing owl. I just love the little owls. Great post.
…loved that video! Very fun to see the squirrel sneak into the burrow and then just hang out there. It looks like they are friends!
I find it completely incomprehensible that these two creatures would be so at ease with each other. Amazing to see!
Oh I’d check out that place every time I went past as well! Wonderful bird, wonderful picture. Ground squirrels are fun to watch too.
I know you have posted about these owls before and when I saw a piece about them on TV I thought of what I had read on your blog…interesting that the owl was so calm..amazing to be able to see these guys in person… thanks for all you do Larry…Michelle
Hi there – thats a great picture of the owl. Strange how we can miss something like a great big leg band until we get it on screen!
Cheers SM
the portrait photo of the owl is gorgeous. And the video…it´s priceless. 🙂
The little Burrowing Owls are so cute! Loved seeing the squirrel dive into the burrow in your video. The Owl is one cool character.
I know these Owls are dear to your heart. I truly enjoyed your video. What a great encounter to witness!
Lovely! I really love owls!
Awesome shots of the beautiful owl and squirrel!
wonderful photo’s and video. i am soooo shocked that a squirrel and owl are so comfortable with each other!!
Great video footage, especially with the passing of the golf cart. It really is not that surprising that these two species are at ease with each other. The squirrel is a seed-eater and therefore not a physical threat to the owl or it’s young and the owl is too small to consider the squirrel as it’s dinner. Four eyes are always better for looking out for danger.
Really nice post.
Larry, how nice to see the owls. I use to see them in AZ, but none here in MA! It was fun birding with Jeff and Dawn. That was my first jaeger so I did not miss the central tail feathers since I have never seen them! will have to look for them next time! glad you got to see one. Amazing how birds show up in the most unlikely places! Thanks for stopping by!
I have not seen any owls this year.Thanks for sharing yours,phyllis