In this case, an overwintering burrowing owl.
![burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2204/33113027155_e9fc3c6655_z.jpg)
![burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2539/33071403936_f83c481fbc_z.jpg)
![burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/577/33113026135_1ed6e476a1_z.jpg)
I heart burrowing owls. The idea of a little owl that lives in burrows always makes me smile.
But as this camera caught, the same burrows attract other visitors and drive-bys, including at times when the owl is home.
Creating the ole "friend or foe?" decision for Mr. Owl.
Here's a series in which a coyote shows up, flushing the owl (from the far burrow), who then returns 7 minutes after the coyote leaves.
![coyote flushes burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2538/33071402596_3928b772cf_z.jpg)
![coyote](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/614/33113024625_54d1007be6_z.jpg)
![burrowing owl back](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/761/33071400926_6f21735f38_z.jpg)
![burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2837/33113023125_e5f54dd3ce_z.jpg)
But note the owl's behavior a few days later, when a black-tailed deer wanders near.
![deer and burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3837/33071399126_6d9592efd8_z.jpg)
![deer and burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/617/32956792872_0f23b0cc3f_z.jpg)
![deer and burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2623/33071397586_861ace4eac_z.jpg)
![deer and burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/653/32956792582_fa30e975b5_z.jpg)
![deer and burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/653/32956792472_c791829907_z.jpg)
Wise little owl.
![burrowing owl](https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3674/32956792352_6027af64c9_z.jpg)
Such interactions also apply to visiting camera trappers.
![burrowing owl looking at me](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2659/33071393986_b9f4cd4e8f_z.jpg)
For the record, I did better than the coyote. The owl only flushed when I was standing by the burrow looking down at it (with a big grin on my face). But I approached out of camera view on the right, so the cam trap unfortunately didn't catch it.
And finally, of course, sometimes inter-species interactions don't go as well for one party.
![burrowing owl eating j-cricket](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2793/32956792152_4eb0dce2de_z.jpg)
Mmmmmmm... Jerusalem cricket. I bet they don't taste like chicken.
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References:
- Nature of a Man (this blog) - Roaming the Badger Belt
- Nature of a Man (this blog) - Owls in the Fox House
- Nature of a Man (this blog) - Burrows are like Christmas
- Burrowing Owl Conservation Network - Burrowing Owl Facts
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology - All About Birds - Burrowing Owl
- Wikipedia - Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia)
This post makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
ReplyDeleteLet me guess - because a bird outsmarts mammals and something gets eaten at the end?
DeleteStand tall you plucky burrowing owl.
ReplyDeletesmiles (also a b.o. fan)
ReplyDelete