Two Contrasting Burrowing Owls

Occasionally I’m struck by the amount of color variation in Burrowing Owls.  Each of these photos was taken about two weeks ago on Antelope Island.  The two birds occupied separate burrows about 200 yards apart.

1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, 1.4 tc, one twig removed, not baited, set up or called in

The dark brown plumage of this bird is pretty typical of the Burrowing Owls I see.  I like this shot partly because of the somewhat unusual background.  Typically when we see blue in the background it’s caused by either sky or water and it extends up to the top of the frame.  But here the narrow band of blue near the bottom is brackish water standing on the mud flats of the Great Salt Lake.  The body of the lake would be out of frame at top.

1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon 100-400 @ 300mm, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

This image was taken the day after the previous one.  The bird is one of the lightest colored Burrowing Owls I’ve seen.  When it was perched next to its more “normal” colored burrow-mates the contrast was striking.

Look closely and you’ll notice another difference between the two owls I’ve featured here – this bird is loaded down with “jewelry”.  In addition to the band on its right leg there’s a transmitter/antennae sticking out of its upper back.  There were at least three owls occupying this burrow which is only about 10 feet from the main, paved road on the island so it was essentially impossible to avoid getting close to the burrow with your vehicle.

In the last few days this burrow has apparently been abandoned, most likely because of the unfortunate happenstance of the burrow being so close to the road.  But I doubt if the process of banding and adding transmitters to these birds (some Burrowing Owls on the island were banded this spring) contributes to their sense of security.

Don’t get me wrong.  I support banding and tracking efforts by highly qualified individuals and groups in support of threatened and endangered species as a “necessary evil”.  At this point in time the alternative would be highly detrimental to many vulnerable species.  I just hope that very soon “they” come up with alternative tracking methods that are less stressful and traumatic to birds.

Ron