A decade ago Burrowing Owls on the island were more common and more accessible than they are today.
Those were the days my friend.
1/400, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 Extender, not baited, set up or called in
7:11 AM:
Shortly after dawn on August 23, 2010 the light on Antelope Island was about as warm as it gets. I don’t remember if there was smoke in the air like we have now but whatever the cause the light was about as golden as I’ve ever seen it on the island.
In most years back then a family of Burrowing Owls nested near the road and on the west side of it so the morning light angle was perfect for photographing owls as they perched in the sage near their burrow.
1/400, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 Extender, not baited, set up or called in
7:11 AM:
This juvenile’s curiosity caused it to parallax my pickup.
1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 Extender, not baited, set up or called in
7:26 AM
Fifteen minutes later the warmth of the light had tamed down noticeably but it’s still very warm and golden. The background in this and the following photos is the Great Salt Lake, not sky.
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 Extender, not baited, set up or called in
7:39 AM:
Apparently I bored this youngster because ‘he’ broke out into an extended yawn while he was looking directly at me.
1/1250, f/8, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 Extender, not baited, set up or called in
7:58 AM:
I’ve always liked backgrounds in my owl photos from this location because sand bars in this very shallow part of the lake often create soft and subtle horizontal bands back there. I much prefer these backgrounds to plain blue sky.
Back in those days it was a joy to photograph Burrowing Owls on the island but things are quite different today. Because of increasing pressure from an often ignorant and/or noncaring public (including experienced bird photographers who should and do know better) most of the owls now reside in burrows in more remote areas of the island and there seems to be fewer of them.
I’ve seen groups of people with point and shoot and phone cameras walking right over the top of owl burrows and I once documented an experienced bird photographer with a long lens walking amongst several burrows and putting intense pressure on the owls as he flushed them from one sagebrush perch to another. If you have the interest that post can be seen here.
Today there are a few burrows that are fairly close to the road but not as close as they used to be, there’s fewer of them and many of them are artificial.
I once had a State Park employee tell me that Burrowing Owls on the island were being “loved to death”. I believe he was right and that’s too bad.
Ron
The second Burrowing Owl shot made me realize I rarely see one with dilated pupils to that extent. It really adds to its curious expression not to mention being extremely adorable.
Those little owls are so cute and funny when they turn their heads around. Thanks for the pictures, I like the soft lighting, makes them glow.
Beautiful shots of the owls, Ron.
Admittedly, I’m getting a little overwhelmed by so many people’s selfishness and sense of entitlement these days.
Me too, Marty. And it’s getting worse.
Thanks for “social distancing” while taking these captivating photos.
The jerk in the linked post was not, and obviously considered his “freedoms” more important than the well-being of the owls. He probably thinks he’s immune to the pandemic, too. He’s certainly immune to basic decency.
Sorry fo the rant.
Rant away, Lyle. We all need that catharsis occasionally.
As soon as I saw your post title I was attacked by an earworm (which is undoubtedly a reflection of my age).
As you know I adore (and that isn’t too strong a word) owls. I simultaneously grieve and hiss and spit at those who love them to death – as if we didn’t do enough bad things to their habitat and food sources already.
Just the same, huge thanks for giving me an ethical way to express my love for these charmers.
And a huge sigh for your smoke tainted air.
Thanks, EC. I’m paid that earworm price today too.
Thankfully our smoke’s been better today.
Fantastic photos. I love the second. There seems to be more owls this year but all the burrows are too far a way for my lens. Sometimes I get lucky and they are on the sage closer to the road, but, yes, I usually have to vie for a spot with 3-4 other photographers.
April, the problem I have is I prefer to photograph in the morning and the owls I see are usually on the ‘wrong’ side of the road for good light.
Yes. I had to go in the evening, but the sunset was spectacular.
Ah, burrowing owls! They’re often the official definition of cute! I’m ALWAYS a fool for that parallaxing thing. It melts my heart every time, despite that I KNOW what it’s really about! In short, they’re charmers!
Better not get all wound up about deviant and irresponsible human behavior! I understand that we all have our share of idiots in any endeavor, but you’re right. They’re breeding and multiplying at a seemingly rapid rate! The good news is that life is mostly tenacious and will find a way if one exists.
A home builder here bulldozed a burrowing owl nesting area last week, despite that both the builder and the bulldozer operator were advised of the owls’ location! GRUMBLE! There’s a whole host of humans I’d like to thwap upside the head, HARD, just because they’re STUPID and irresponsible!
I’m sorry to hear about your owls, Laura. There’s far to much of that going on.
Sensational series Ron! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Charlotte.
Just can’t not smile at photos of Burrowing Owls—my favorites of the species. These are all wonderful images and, of course, the parallax and the yawn are entertaining! As for the ignoramuses who wander through and over burrow habitat in the hunt for a great closeup (or even just a look) —ignorance is definitely not bliss, nor is it any kind of excuse. 😠
Thanks. Chris. Nope, no excuse at all.
Thanks for the BuOw pics, I love that bird! I lived for many years in the SF Bay Area and worked for Golden Gate Audubon – we had a conservation and docent program for a small population that wintered in Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley every year. Sadly, despite our best efforts people there were just as ignorant and selfish as those you describe above, and I don’t think they’ve had any show up for the past few years.
Stephanie, just goes to show that there’s a percentage of jerks no matter where you are. And that percentage is far to high and getting higher all the time.
Many thanks for this post, and especially for the link to past behavior of someone who should have known better. I personally do not know any nice language for people like that, so I wont attempt to add my 2 cents. It is simply a sad commentary that people “love these animals to death.”
Dick, I’m afraid that photographers like that guy love their photos more than they do their subjects.
Beautiful series, perfect subject in perfect lighting. Are they migratory or are they resident in your area?
Thanks, Elmer. Here in northern Utah they’re migratory but further south they’re resident year round.
Not sure if we have Burrowing Owls here Ron. I have never seen one. Of course burrowing in our rocky soil might be too difficult. That yawning photo makes that young guy look like he’s a hundred years old. Nice shots all. Yesterday morning we had that same kind of warm light right after sunrise as I was taking photos of Short-billed Dowatchers. Our strong winds are bringing a lot of the California wildfire smoke and it almost looks like we have fog out there on the horizon.
Everett, it’s been real smoky here for the last couple of days but this morning it looks like it’s mostly cleared out. But the clouds from the south that cleared it out aren’t good for bird photography. If one thing doesn’t bite you in the butt another thing will…
I guess the light was “golden” ! 🙂 Beautiful photos of a fun bird – saddening/infuriating that people have to ruin it out of ignorance or not giving a hoot as they do with many things.
Judy, I’m a fan of warm light but for my tastes the light in some of the shots I took that morning was just too warm and golden.
What a gorgeous group of photographs, And what a sad state of affairs that the Burrowing Owls had to relocate. At least that’s my wish, that they are just relocated, and not dwindling.
Thanks, Joanne. I’m afraid they’re doing both.