Burrowing Owl

About the Burrowing Owl

One of the most endearing birds of the open country, the Burrowing Owl is a small, long-legged owl that lives and nests underground and is active by day. Sandy brown and spotted, with piercing yellow eyes and a habit of bobbing when alarmed, it stands sentinel at the mouth of its burrow, swiveling its head to watch the grassland.

Unlike most owls, it often hunts in daylight and evening, taking insects, small rodents, and lizards, and it readily adopts the abandoned burrows of prairie dogs and ground squirrels. Where prairie dog towns survive, so often do the owls.

In Texas the Burrowing Owl is mainly a winter visitor and local breeder of the western plains, grasslands, and prairie dog colonies, standing out on the flat, open ground it favors.

A note from behind the lens: their daytime habits and open perches make them a dream subject, but they deserve real distance - a long lens and a slow approach from a vehicle keep the bird relaxed. Eye-level at the burrow, in soft early or late light, is the classic shot.