The burrowing owl situation at my favorite spot this season is downright sad... . Nobody knows why but the population is down to almost nothing. I couldn’t get any meaningful in-flight images just some perching. At one time earlier in the season, there were 3 owlets and now not a single one is to be found. As a comparison, 2 seasons ago, there were 2-3 families with roughly 12 owlets...
I dug into the fault and I discovered plenty images labeled to be processed but I didn’t get to do so. Actually, there are more that I will process and post later down the road. Here are a few in-flight images as a change from the plenty peregrine falcon images I had posted so far.
Thank you for stopping by and please feel free to leave any feedback,
Joshua
Very nice shots! Can you find any explanation as to why they are being decimated? Humans? Or preditors? When the virus has calmed down we were going to visit our daughter in Northridge, this week actually, it's her birthday today...sigh...anyway this was on the list to go see the Owls...
AZHeaven wrote:
Very nice shots! Can you find any explanation as to why they are being decimated? Humans? Or preditors? When the virus has calmed down we were going to visit our daughter in Northridge, this week actually, it's her birthday today...sigh...anyway this was on the list to go see the Owls...
Thank you very much, Jeff! There is no way to find out for sure why. This sizable open land was supposedly acquired by one of the big courier companies last year but the plan to redevelop it was probably stalled or postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Who knows when or if they will move forward with the development. I hope they decide to leave this land alone and relinquish it to nature.
I noticed more than just a few times that there were red-tail hawks that circle around, patrolling the sky above. Each time I saw them though they were pretty high up. But these owls fly pretty high to hunt their prey. So, who knows...
Just FYI, when I first visited the site 7-8 years ago, there were 6-7 burrows that were visible along the road. Photographers, at least from what I could tell, did not venture in more than 20-30 feet or so into the field. Judging by the field size, there could still be some burrows way further in. Plus, there are neighboring lots that used to be populated by owls. What I am trying to say is, there are still some owls there but the number has decreased significantly, and/or the access to the burrows is significantly limited now. I am still hopeful that they would be able to recover next year unless the development would take place, which is really ashamed. Time will tell...
AGeoJO wrote:
Thank you very much, Jeff! There is no way to find out for sure why. This sizable open land was supposedly acquired by one of the big courier companies last year but the plan to redevelop it was probably stalled or postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Who knows when or if they will move forward with the development. I hope they decide to leave this land alone and relinquish it to nature.
I noticed more than just a few times that there were red-tail hawks that circle around, patrolling the sky above. Each time I saw them though they were pretty high up. But these owls fly pretty high to hunt their prey. So, who knows...
Just FYI, when I first visited the site 7-8 years ago, there were 6-7 burrows that were visible along the road. Photographers, at least from what I could tell, did not venture in more than 20-30 feet or so into the field. Judging by the field size, there could still be some burrows way further in. Plus, there are neighboring lots that used to be populated by owls. What I am trying to say is, there are still some owls there but the number has decreased significantly, and/or the access to the burrows is significantly limited now. I am still hopeful that they would be able to recover next year unless the development would take place, which is really ashamed. Time will tell......Show more →
Oh man I hope they don't develop that area! My first experience with Burrowing Owls was in FL at Brian Piccolo Park outside of Hollywood this past January. They have the burrows roped off to keep humans the required 12 feet away from them. But some burrows are right next to the sidewalk and we were within 6' of them at one point. They just sit there and do what they do best, look around and do the Owl thing! Didn't get to see them fly or hunt. Haven't had the chance to check out where they are in AZ yet. It's on the list!
birdied wrote:
So sad to hear that they are not around this year. However, very happy you have shots from last year for us to enjoy .
Great work on these Joshua.
Birdie
Birdie, thank you very much! Yes, it is sad but I hope that they will be able to turn it around. The weather here has been on the cool side and that the June bugs stay in the ground. I hope that June bugs will swarm the area, enticing the burrowing owls to get active in the warmer mornings. I am sure a few owls are still around, I saw at least an adult one, but the owlets or more the juveniles are missing...
AZHeaven wrote:
Oh man I hope they don't develop that area! My first experience with Burrowing Owls was in FL at Brian Piccolo Park outside of Hollywood this past January. They have the burrows roped off to keep humans the required 12 feet away from them. But some burrows are right next to the sidewalk and we were within 6' of them at one point. They just sit there and do what they do best, look around and do the Owl thing! Didn't get to see them fly or hunt. Haven't had the chance to check out where they are in AZ yet. It's on the list!...Show more →
Yes, I am crossing my fingers, too. The burrowing owls can get used to human being around. As long as we don't bother them, they will indeed be doing their owl thing . Jeff, it is a lot fun watch them hunt and catch June bugs mid-air. The adults are good and miss not too often while the youngsters make some blunder moves quite a bit and actually, their missteps are even more fun to watch.
MStapert wrote:
Sorry to hear about the disappearing owls! As others have said...hopefully that are remains undeveloped and the owl families return.
Great shots, as always! Thanks for sharing.
Mike
ps - in my area, BO immediately brings to mind Barred Owls. We've got some Barn Owls, but they are getting more and more rare in Massachusetts.
Mike, thank you for your kind words! Yes, burrowing owls are more limited to the SW area of the country. We do have some Great Horned Owl and Barn Owls but not as frequent as the Burrowing Owls, at least in my experience. Owls are quite expressive and as such, photogenic.
louie champan wrote:
Very well done Joshua and you've captured them with very pleasing background, which is somewhat of a rarity.
Outstanding set, Joshua. I may have missed a lot during my absence, but I think these are the first burrowing owl shots that I've seen here where they're actually flying and not just standing around like a bunch of mischievous Meerkats plotting something you don't want to be a part of
Joshua, it is difficult to say why the numbers are down. I’m local to the area and there are a few other spots that used to host some significant numbers. One in particular had probably a dozen families. I would go just to watch them all feeding and active in the evenings. Now they are all gone. The field was mowed to meet fire regulations but it wasn’t the first time. There were 2 or 3 other spots that had steady populations and they too are empty. All of these spots were significantly smaller than the main field now.
Hopefully it’s just a cyclical thing and the fields will stay empty. There is already too much development for warehouses and logistics m
. Nobody knows why but the population is down to almost nothing. I couldn’t get any meaningful in-flight images just some perching. At one time earlier in the season, there were 3 owlets and now not a single one is to be found. As a comparison, 2 seasons ago, there were 2-3 families with roughly 12 owlets... 
. Jeff, it is a lot fun watch them hunt and catch June bugs mid-air. The adults are good and miss not too often while the youngsters make some blunder moves quite a bit and actually, their missteps are even more fun to watch.