Burrowing Owl Imperial County California_8835
I roll down the window and try not to breathe too hard. Or laugh too hard.
Oh those little faces are checking us out. We are in our portable bird blind (Wendy's car.)
"Burrowing owls like to settle in open areas with minimal grass cover, empty burrows built by other animals more adept at digging, and perch sites. The elaborate underground networks of tunnels and chambers fashioned by prairie dogs and other burrowing mammals fit the bill nicely. Once owls move in, they often start decorating. Some might call their taste eclectic.
The tiny raptors have been known to outfit their burrows with foam, rubber window insulation, cigarette butts, tin foil, spaceman toys and Barbie doll parts.
Other birds festoon their nests with found objects, to attract mates and deter predators. A handful of species also use manure to line their nests. But burrowing owls have a unique penchant for scattering manure everywhere: outside their burrow, in the tunnel leading to the nest chamber and inside the chamber itself. This curious habit was first reported in 1892, and biologists still can’t say for certain why they do it..."
Liza Gross
pbs.org
Burrowing Owl Imperial County California_8835
I roll down the window and try not to breathe too hard. Or laugh too hard.
Oh those little faces are checking us out. We are in our portable bird blind (Wendy's car.)
"Burrowing owls like to settle in open areas with minimal grass cover, empty burrows built by other animals more adept at digging, and perch sites. The elaborate underground networks of tunnels and chambers fashioned by prairie dogs and other burrowing mammals fit the bill nicely. Once owls move in, they often start decorating. Some might call their taste eclectic.
The tiny raptors have been known to outfit their burrows with foam, rubber window insulation, cigarette butts, tin foil, spaceman toys and Barbie doll parts.
Other birds festoon their nests with found objects, to attract mates and deter predators. A handful of species also use manure to line their nests. But burrowing owls have a unique penchant for scattering manure everywhere: outside their burrow, in the tunnel leading to the nest chamber and inside the chamber itself. This curious habit was first reported in 1892, and biologists still can’t say for certain why they do it..."
Liza Gross
pbs.org