by Dr. Wayne Lynch
August 2, 2017

Adult Owl At the Mouth of Its Burrow

The burrowing owl is a small owl, just 23 centimetres (9 in) tall, with legs nearly a third as long as the length of its body. Typically, it roosts on the ground, but sometimes perches on fence posts. This charming little owl is an uncommon resident of short-grass and mixed-grass prairies throughout the Great Plains. In recent decades it has suffered declines, the most drastic being those in Canada where the population may now be as low as 800 birds (500 in Saskatchewan, 300 in Alberta). The wholesale war on prairie dogs and ground squirrels, the widespread use of insecticides, and the cultivation and conversion of native grasslands to crop lands have all contributed to the declines.

Adult Burrowing Owls

The burrowing owl hunts in the daytime as well as at night. During the day, these insect exterminators prey on dung beetles, burying beetles, crickets and grasshoppers in the vicinity of their nest. I once spent nine hours watching an adult owl resting on the mound at the mouth of its nest burrow. Throughout that day, the vigilant adult repeatedly sprinted across the prairie on its pencil-thin legs to slam a talonned foot on top of a large juicy grasshopper that had made the fatal mistake of landing nearby. At night, the owls switch to a diet of deer mice and voles. During their nocturnal hunts, the owls forage farther away from the nest, up to five kilometres (3 mi) away.

Adult Burrowing Owl

Left: Adult Burrowing Owl Slumping Its Wings to Cool Its Body Right: Adult Owl with a Burying Beetle

Burrowing Owl Chicks Watching a Beetle

Burrowing Owl Chicks Watching a Beetle

Burrowing Owl Chicks

Seven Owl Chicks At The Mouth of Their Burrow

Adult Owl Delivering Prey

Adult Owl with a Burying Beetle

American Badger, An Important Architect of Owl Burrows

The burrowing owl, as its name suggests, nests underground. The male and female work together to renovate the abandoned burrow of a ground squirrel, prairie dog or badger. The pair dig with their beaks and kick the dirt backwards with their feet. In Alberta, and other areas, the owls have the unusual habit of lining the tunnel and nest chamber with dried, shredded cattle manure. A researcher in Oregon speculates that the manure masks the owl's odour and hides their presence from keen-nosed predators such as badgers and foxes. The manure may also attract dung beetles and provide the owls, especially youngsters, with a handy source of food.

Owl Chick Learning to Fly

Owl Chick Learning to Fly

Early Flight Lessons in an Owl Chick

Early Flight Lessons in an Owl Chick

A pair of burrowing owls may raise three to 11 chicks. The young owlets first emerge from the burrow when they are roughly two weeks old, and in Alberta, this happens from the middle of May onwards. As the youngsters grow, they cluster around the mouth of the burrow waiting for the adults to feed them. While they are waiting, they hop about and flap their fluffy wings, preen each other, pick at debris on the ground and chase beetles that crawl nearby. Young burrowing owls can fly by the time they are six weeks old.

 

Authors Biography & Contact Information

Bio: Dr. Lynch is a popular guest lecturer and an award-winning science writer. His books cover a wide range of subjects, including: the biology and behaviour of owls, penguins and northern bears; arctic, boreal and grassland ecology; and the lives of prairie birds and mountain wildlife. He is a fellow of the internationally recognized Explorers Club - a select group of scientists, eminent explorers and distinguished persons, noteworthy for their contributions to world knowledge and exploration. He is also an elected Fellow of the prestigious Arctic Institute of North America.

 

 

Dr. Wayne Lynch 
3779 Springbank Drive S. W.
Calgary, AB, T3H J5

E-mail: lynchandlang@shaw.ca 
Website: www.waynelynch.ca

Read previous articles by Dr. Wayne Lynch

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