Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)

The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is widespread throughout grassland habitat from southern Canada to southern Argentina. In the western United States and Mexico it often nests in colonies of prairie dogs. In the winter months this species often shows up in seemingly odd places in southern and coastal locations. The species is diurnal, which means it is active during the daytime. The bird on the below left was photographed in December, 1994, at San Luis Pass in Galveston Co., Texas. The bird below on the right was photographed in February, 1998, in a concrete irrigation pipe in the middle of a farm field near McAllen, Texas. A Canon T-90 and Sigma 500mm F4.5 lens was used for both photos. The left image was on Kodachrome 200 and the right was on Fuji Sensia 100. See below for other photos.


This Burrowing Owl was perched on a hay bale in Guadalupe Co., Texas, in January, 1987. A Minolta X570 & Vivitar 120-600mm lens was used from a car window.	The bird above was standing on a wooden sign at a golf course in Marathon, Florida in April, 1996. The photo was shot with a Canon T-90 and Sigma 500mm F4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 from a tripod.

The Burrowing Owl below was perched on a fence in Cherry Co., Nebraska, in June, 2001. It was shot with a Canon EOS 3 and 600mm F4 L lens on Fuji Velvia.

The Burrowing Owl just below was perched on top of the stone chimney of the old
jail at historic Fort Stockton in the town of Fort Stockton, Pecos Co., Texas, in June,
2005. The show was taken with a Canon EOS 1D Mark II and EF 600mm F/4 L IS lens.

The next two shots were also taken in Fort Stockton, Texas, but in September
2006. The same gear as above was used to take the images. This Burrowing Owl
was standing next to its burrow entrance.

I spent a very enjoyable late afternoon in early June, 2007, on the grounds of the old fort at Fort Stockton, Texas, where I found a family of Burrowing Owls. I had been to this area a number of times in the past as can be seen by some of the shots above, but I had never before found a family of owls. Two adults were busily trying to feed and deal with 4 youngsters and their antics were a pure delight to watch. On the left, an adult keeps an eye on the youngsters from a nearby rock, while the next 2 shots down show two youngsters emerging from the burrow as the sun gets low in the afternoon. All of the below shots were taken from a car window while I was parked on a public street. I used a Canon EOS 1D Mark III and EF 600mm F/4 L IS lens and often a 1.4 or 2X extender.

Another youngster emerges from the burrow and gives a big yawn. Below are several more shots of the youngsters as they vocalize and keep a watch out for the adults bringing food.

In the set of shots on the left, a youngster is shown begging from an adult. The young bird, on the left, continually tugged at the adults face as if trying to get its attention. The 4th shot below shows one youngster biting the neck of another youngster. This seemed to all be in play.

The shots on the left show more interaction between a juvenile bird and an adult as well as two young birds in a sort of wrestling match. In another shot, an adult has delivered a beetle to one of the youngsters.

I had the impression that this harried adult on the left was looking back at me with an expression of "have you ever seen such misbehaving children?"

Below will be 7 more shots taken on this occasion. I really like the shot of the yawning youngster as well as the images of the three young birds lined up in stair-step fashion as they wait for an adult to bring food.

The adult Burrowing Owl on the left was perched on some scrub at the Pawnee National Grasslands, Weld Co., Colorado, in June, 2007. This shot was taken with the same gear described above.