| Burrowing owls (Speotyto cunicularia) usually nest in abandoned
ground squirrel burrows (at least in central California), often where active
squirrel "towns" still flourish nearby. This owl species is diurnal;
they are awake in the daytime and they sleep at night. One or both
parents stand outside the nest-burrow, unless feeding, hunting or when
"danger" is near. When they perceive danger, neither will remain
visible at the nest site, and one usually attempts to lure off the intruder
with a "bobbing" display and loud chirps. Burrowing owls are a threatened
species in the San Francisco Bay area due to loss of habitat.
Like most birds, burrowing owls usually ignore automobiles, and in this
case trains! This owl's nest is located on the embankment of a railroad-switching
yard; there are sometimes 420,000 pound diesel locomotives no more than
10 feet away! This particular owl tolerated me 10 feet away as I
stayed in my car and shot through an open window.
These pictures were taken in May 1999, in Fremont, California.
The images were recorded on Fuji Velvia using a Canon EOS-1 with an EF300/4.0L
lens and EF1.4X extender; exposure was at f/5.6. Scans are PhotoCD
by Kodalux; "thumbnails" at 128x192 and larger images are cropped from
1028X1536 scans.
Click on the "thumbnails" to see and enlarged image.
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