I can’t imagine how frenzied these poor parents are as they try to keep this many chicks fed, fat and happy.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I’ve been watching this Burrowing Owl nest entrance for weeks now but it’s quite a distance from the road and I seldom like the aesthetics of burrow mounds anyway so I’ve mostly only been watching the two adults through my lens. But recently the chicks have ventured out and there’s a passel of those cute little guys so two days ago I started taking some photos.
At first I thought there was “only” eight of them and for a couple of seconds they all had their eye on me when I first pulled up on the road about 100 yards away. But there was another one out of frame to the left and when that bird spotted a parent coming in with food…
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
it ran quickly up and joined the rest of the group so now I knew there are at least nine of them (the newcomer is the one in the middle still running through the crowd).
When the parent with food (an insect I believe) arrived a few seconds later all hell broke loose.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Talk about a feeding frenzy over one little morsel of food!
The adult that flew in is the bird on the far left (the one with its eyes closed for obvious reasons). It has apparently just dropped the insect and the chicks are going nuts as they compete for the small bit of food. But one of the youngsters apparently put such tawdry behavior beneath “him” and…
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
a different crop of the same image shows him on the right staying aloof from the crowd and seeming to look on disdainfully at the behavior of his siblings.
Clutch size for Burrowing Owls can be as many as a dozen eggs and that makes me wonder if any other raptor lays that many eggs or if this species holds the raptor record (I tried to research that question but never came up with a definitive answer).
Either way the amount of work involved for the parents as they try to keep so many youngsters fed for many weeks must be truly overwhelming.
Ron
Love that feeding frenzy. And the ‘too cool for school’ sibling.
And am awed by (and so sympathetic to) those poor parents. However do they manage…
Thank you, EC.
Truly amazing photos, Ron, so glad you got the whole brood and then stuck around for the frenzy. But I wonder how a single insect — grasshopper or dragonfly? — could possibly suffice for all those kids for any amount of time. Or how the parents could possibly manage 25+ days catching and feeding individual insects like that before the kids learn to hunt their own prey … perhaps that’s not the norm, maybe they usually collect several insects or voles at a time? Just wondering, and also feeling great sympathy for Mom & Dad, even as I greatly enjoy your capture of such a large group of siblings. May they thrive, and their parents survive!
Chris, the adults were making food trips to the burrow every few minutes or so and I imagine it goes on all day. Those insects are often relatively large grasshoppers and they also regularly prey on voles. Somehow they get the job done but it must be exhausting.
In response to Joanne’s comment, ( and anybody else who’s enchanted by burrowing owls )—a YA novel by Carl Hiassen titled “HOOT” about a group of teens who work to save the habitat of
burrowing owls in their neighborhood in Florida from commercial development—it was made into a very mediocre movie, so bypass that and get the book–try your library !
Yes, a great book — and I’m definitely no young adult! 😁
Thanks for the tip, Kris.
Thanks Kris! I’ll look for it.
I think barn owls have a largest clutches. I have seen a picture of 18 owlets at a rehabilitation facility from one nest . Unlike your burrowing owls, barn owls begin incubation with the first egg so there can be a hatchling with a fully grown sibling. If the prey base is good, all survive, if not, that does not bode well for the youngest. Maybe this strategy is why there are barn owls on every continent except Antarctica!
You’re right, Valerie. I just found several references that say Barn Owls lay up to 18 eggs. Thanks for the info!
The one off to the side is saying, “Ugh. Those children,” in his most disdainful voice. 😉
Great shots as always, Ron!
You and I have both known a few students like that, haven’t we, Marty!
I think if you look up cute (brutally so) in the dictionary, you’ll find photos like these of burrowing owls! Seriously, just how cute can you get (in a predatory kind of way)? Granted, most all babies are cute, but burrowing owls seem to keep that inherent cuteness even as adults.
I imagine the group hatching like popping popcorn. From there, I’ve often wondered how their parents manage to keep everybody fed and sassy, but obviously, they do, at least mostly. The task just has to be daunting and exhausting for them! It’s one thing when the kids are tiny and just out of the egg, but when the kids hit teenagehood, YIKES! Just the thought gives me the heebie jeebies. LOL!
“I imagine the group hatching like popping popcorn”
You put that so very well, Lara. Made me LOL!
Wow that is the cutest thing I have ever seen! Makes me smile. Thank you for the awesome shots Ron!
Thanks, Barby.
They are some of the most charismatic owls I’ve ever seen…
🙂
I love the series but that first photo is Amazing!! Bravo! These guys are so cute. I can’t wait to someday see some Burrowing Owls. I missed them on my last trip too FLA.
I hope you get to see some of the juvies some day, Joanne. They’re sooo much fun!
Feeding that horde has got to be exhausting…holding a camera still enough to get such great pictures,without laughing too hard to maintain focus, must be very difficult, too….
Patty, I truly didn’t have time to laugh. Those little devils are FAST so all I was doing was firing off bursts and trying to keep them in frame.
I was just thinking about waiting until all eggs were laid to start incubating, and suddenly I realized that the waiting means that all chicks have the same ability to compete for food. Much better than having some die because they are too small to compete.
Exactly, Susan.
Nine chicks is a lot! And I’ll bet the parents don’t see their babies as “cute”, the way we do… These little ones are adorable, and clearly already have tons of personality.
Susan, Among the birds I regularly photograph I don’t think there’s any that hold a candle to Burrowing Owls when it comes to personality.
American Kestrels come very close, IMO.
It certainly bodes well for their territory with that many, Suggests that food is abundant!
Great shots Ron, Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Dick.
I saw the eight and I thought I saw 9, but OH MY GOODNESS the feeding shot of all those wings is priceless and indescribable in its movement and emotion. It reminds me modern, abstract art.
At first I thought there were nine in that first shot too, Doogs. That second one from the right is hard to “interpret”…
WOW—-do you know how old the chicks have to be before they’re able to at least snag grasshoppers on the ground for themselves ? Those poor parents-and in the current heat in Utah, extra stressful !
I’m not sure, Kris, but BNA says that they first emerge from the burrow at 2 weeks and fledge at between 44 and 53 days.
That’s an amazing number of chicks. I had no idea they clutched that many. Good gravy! The parents are probably looking forward to when they can hunt for themselves. Me? I’d be calling a nanny service. LOL
The nanny service would be my choice too, Arwen!
Yikes, I can’t imagine try to keep that crowd fed, I hope it is a good grasshopper year!
April, they seem to feed on a lot of voles in that area too so if the ‘hoppers are short they do have another option.
Amazing Ron. I have only seen 1 owl in the wild in my life. I am always amazed at all the incredible different kinds of birds you see so regularly, but the owl and raptors photos you post are always my favourites (Canadian spelling). Not only do you find them, but are often lucky enough to get a few lasting photographic memories as well. Thanks for sharing. I had no idea owls could have so many babies.
Thanks, Colin. I ALWAYS enjoy Canadian spelling, terminology and pronunciation. My mother was Canadian and I grew up only about 25 miles from the Alberta border where my grandparents lived so I spent a LOT of time in Canada. Good times!
That’s absolutely amazing! I had no idea there could be that many. How could 2 feed 9? I wish them well. Thanks for sharing!!
Charlotte
“How could 2 feed 9?”
Good question, Charlotte. It must be exhausting.
WOW! They must wait until they have a clutch to brood since they all appear to be the same age unlike the GHO’s that start brooding as soon as the first egg is laid ending up with owlets of different ages. Can see why the parents would get in and get out!
Judy, they usually lay one egg per day until the clutch is complete and then start incubating. The stable temp down in the burrow keeps them all viable until incubation begins so they all hatch at about the same time. It’s kind of like a variation on the theme called “delayed implantation” practiced by members of the weasel family. Pretty nifty way to do it with that many youngsters!
And you’re right, the adults get the hell out of Dodge as soon as they drop off the food. I don’t blame them!