My son and I have a special fondness for Burrowing Owls. There were some on his Elementary School property, and a burrow right by his K class. I always took this to be a good omen, and indeed he excelled at that school. Now that he’s in Middle School, I know he will continue the trend. He read and thoroughly enjoyed Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, although the movie wasn’t so great.

There are burrows in the park he has his basketball practices. These are protected burrows and I was able to document one of the owls in this and this frame.

As reported by the LA Times (click link in title for full story):

Surveys by the Imperial Irrigation District show the burrowing owl population has dropped from about 5,600 pairs in the early 1990s to 4,879 pairs in 2007 and 3,557 pairs in 2008.

“We’ve seen a 27% drop in one year alone,” said Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. “If there is a similar drop next year, this bird could disappear in California.”

Statewide, the owl has been decreasing because of habitat loss through urban development, elimination of rodents it feeds on, pesticides, predation by domestic animals, vehicle strikes, contact with wind turbines and shooting.

Burrowing owls are between 9 and 11 inches tall and make their nests in holes and tunnels once inhabited by ground squirrels….