Superbowl

From Cynthia Rand

Nature provided just the right frame to complement this Screech Owl's beautiful eyes!

From Middle TN Raptor Center

Al the Screech Owl has recovered and is ready for release!

From Bryce Gaudian

Burrowing Owl north of Calipatria, California in the Salton Sea area of the Mojave Desert. April 2024. - in Calipatria, CA

From RV Fine Photography

From Ojai Raptor Center

Yesterday [10 OCT], the California Fish and Game Commission made a significant move in the fight to protect the Western Burrowing Owl, granting it "candidate" status under the California Endangered Species Act. This means the species will be temporarily protected while a full review is conducted over the next 12 to 18 months. Burrowing owls are facing steep declines with only 225 breeding pairs left in parts of central and southwestern California.

Though Sacramento was too far for our team to attend, we felt strongly about having a presence at this important meeting, especially in memory of our recently passed Burrowing Owl ambassador, Topper. These unique owls, who roost and nest underground, face countless threats, and we believe they deserve full protection to safeguard their future. Click the link ~~below~~ [here] to read more about what this decision means for the Western Burrowing Owl.

The link is short but informative and has a cute picture, so I encourage you to read it.

This story is a bit old, but popped up in today's news.

From The Telegraph

Comedian took advice from expert at London Zoo before releasing female Eurasian eagle-owl into local forest

Bill Bailey has revealed how he bought a caged owl from a restaurant in China and set it free in a forest.

The comedian and Strictly winner, 59, has released a memoir titled My Animals and Other Animals, a chronology of his life hinged around all the animals he has met along the way.

Bailey told BBC Breakfast: “We were travelling through China in Guangdong province and we went to a restaurant, and I was with the family, and there was an owl in the restaurant.

“It was never really explicitly mentioned whether it was going to be eaten or whether it was for, you know, demo purposes.

“It was in a cage alongside a lot of other animals, and we felt sorry for it. So we said, we have to get this owl out of here. We offered to buy it off them, and then they were quite happy to sell it to us.

“We bought the owl, and they taped it up and put it in a box, and we carried it off in a taxi to release it somewhere.”

After phoning an owl expert at London Zoo from China, Bailey said they had found a forest, adding: “We let it go and it flew off. It was a wonderful moment.”

In the book, Bailey says the owl was a female Eurasian eagle-owl, and he paid 400 yuan for it, which is just over £40 today.

According to the Peregrine Fund, which works to conserve birds of prey worldwide, the Eurasian eagle-owl is “among the world’s largest owls”, its “pumpkin orange eyes and feathery ear tufts make them one of the most striking owls in the world”.

From Sebastian Darius

Ural Owl in Romania

From Ojai Raptor Center

It's hard to believe, but the unfortunate predicament that Great Horned Owl patient 24-680 found itself in is not as rare as one might think. This owl was rescued after becoming lodged in the grill of a vehicle. Remarkably, we receive about one of these cases a year, and most of the raptors we've treated have survived this traumatic ordeal. Despite the severity of the accident, 24-680 is expected to make a full recovery, even after suffering a broken fibula (visible in the radiograph in the final slide).

Some could argue there isn't much story here, but after going back and forth on sharing this, I thought it was interesting to look how laws work both in favor of the owls and against them, and the locals' concern about them and desire to see them taken care of.

Let me know your thoughts! I'll include some bonus pics in exchange for reading this.

From the Midland Reporter-Telegram

Residents concerned about fate of Texas burrowing owls amid new construction By Kessly Salinas

Texas burrowing owls have found a home in the burrows of a prairie dog town in an empty lot near Front Street and North Adams Street but will soon need to find a new one.

According to Donnabelle and Mike Hutt, there is about 8 to 10 burrowing owls that have made the abandoned prairie dog town their home.

After continuously seeing a food truck park in the same lot that the owls are living in, the couple worked to raise awareness about the birds, reaching out to officials to ensure the safety of the owls.

Now, the couple’s concern is reaching a new level. Construction for a new Dollar Tree will begin soon in the owls’ lot, and the duo is worried about the fate of these feathery neighbors.

Michael Nickell, museum scientist at the Sibley Nature Center, said that Texas burrowing owls are unique in that they reside underground. They might not always dig their own burrow, so they like to reside in abandoned prairie dog colonies.

Corrie Borgman, migratory bird biologist and nongame/landbird specialist at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that because burrowing owls like living in abandoned quarters of prairie dog colonies, the two animals are often associated together.

Nickell added that the burrowing owl is a migratory bird, so they are considered a protected species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

“A protected species doesn’t necessarily mean they’re endangered, threatened or vulnerable,” Nickell told the Reporter-Telegram. “But because the burrowing owl is a migratory species, it does fall under the protection of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.”

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 was established to ensure the sustainability of populations of all protected migratory bird species, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The treaty protects over 1,000 species in North America.

“The MBTA protects birds themselves, as well as their eggs, their nests and any body parts such as feathers and things like that,” Borgman said. “It’s prohibited to kill a burrowing owl directly or remove it’s nest.”

If a burrowing owl built a nest and laid eggs in it, the nest would have to remain undisturbed until the birds have fledged.

Borgman said that although the Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects birds, eggs and their nests, it doesn’t protect habitats.

“If the food truck is parking directly on top of the burrow, it could be problematic,” Borgman said. “I think that it could easily be a conversation explaining to the owners that they don’t have to park directly on top because they are protected.”

She added that it’s a situation that could be resolved.

“Texas Parks and Wildlife has management guidelines that says to conduct activities at a minimum of 100 feet from the nesting sites,” Borgman said.

She said that although parking directly on top would lead to people disturbing the ground each time someone walks up to the food truck, if there was a minimum buffer between the truck and the nest, they could coexist in the same lot.

With a safe distance, the owls wouldn’t be hurt by the foot traffic that the food truck creates.

Game Warden Philip Bird added that a food truck creates very low disturbances to the burrowing owls.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act doesn’t protect habitats, it only protects the birds, their nests and their eggs.

Donnabelle and Mike Hutt suspected that the owls were protecting a nest and newly lain eggs, but if there aren't any eggs and nests right now, there isn’t much that can be done for the owls.

“It’s not nesting season for any bird in Texas at the moment,” Bird said. “Burrowing owls are federally protected, so there may be some type of permit that the construction company needs to get but that’s not something that the state regulates.”

Since it is not nesting season, the burrowing owls would just have to find a new habitat. Because natural habitat loss happens due to development, Texas Parks and Wildlife has constructed a guide about how to build artificial den sites in urban areas.

Bird said that burrowing owls’ nest anywhere that there’s prairie dog town and that there is plenty all over west Texas. The burrowing owls will be able to adapt and find a new home.

“I assume that when construction begins in earnest, the owls would fly off and find a better habitat for themselves,” Bird said. “It’s not nesting season, so there’s not really a state violation occurring.”

From Blackland Prairie Raptor Center

It's not always obvious why a bird isn't feeling well, so we run blood work on the majority of birds that come in, to help us figure out what's wrong. This barred owl was lethargic with no obvious reason why but it had a surprise in its blood. It had parasites in its red blood cells. The pointer in the picture below is pointing to a red blood cell filled with a parasite. With supportive care this barred owl is clearing the parasites from its blood and is active again!

Photo by Paul Bannik

Northern Hawk Owls (Surnia ulula) A male Northern Hawk Owl attempts to feed a disinterested fledgling. Northern Hawks are among several species that specialize in small mammals and can have very large broods of several youngsters when voles populations are high. Such owls frequently cache excess prey when youngsters have had their fill and attempt to deliver the same meals later.

From the Center for Wildlife

Lucy, our non-releasable Eastern Screech Owl ambassador, along with our team of educators had a blast educating students from Barrington Middle School at the summit of @mtagamenticus today!

A couple hundred students spent the day exploring Mount Agamenticus and learning a variety of topics including habitat, conservation, wildlife and more.

From Wild Heart Ranch

Barn Owl giving the situation an extreme analysis.

Photo by Fayaz Hamza

Munnar, India

From Eric D. Olick

I'm hoping to see more eastern screech owls around in the spring of 2025- they are so expressive and fun to watch and photograph!

From Mar Acevedo

After work, I visit for about two hours. On this day, I find the little one almost right away. After a few minutes of staring at each other (see my previous post), they give me a big stretch. This behavior is one of my favorite things that owls do. I think I picked the frame of maximum wing stretch. I love how the setting sun is giving backlight to that left wing.

Photos from the previous post mentioned above and a photo of momma are down below.

From Randy Finley

Barn Owls - Sacramento Valley, CA

From RV Fine Photography

Some nice Snowy Owls grin this photographer's collection.

From A Place Called Hope

Welcome Autumn.. as the leaves start to change colors, and the temperatures drop, our feathered friends thrive in this cooler climate! This beautiful Eastern Screech Owl was originally found on hot pavement, overheated, and dehydrated. Did you know birds tolerate colder temperatures over hot? Healthy feathers help a bird to properly thermoregulate, but when the temps rise, the only way a bird can sweat is through an open beak.

Photo by John Saleda

Wish You Were Here...hoping for a very "Snowy" Winter! Snowy Owl and Ghostly Gulls.

From Black Hills Raptor Center

This is what raptor rehab can do! A great horned owl, caught in monofilament fishing line in a pond near Rochford. Rescued. Brought to the BHRC. Sent to the rehab center at the Bramble Park Zoo in Watertown. And RETURNED to us for release in its home territory!

Photo by Swapnil Bhoskar

Mottled Wood Owl, Bhigvan, India

Photo by Kevin Thurk

Back lit snowy owl taking off in the morning sun.

From the International Owl Center

Bea the Burrowing Owl enjoying a shower in today's heat. She takes dust baths and drinks out of her water bowls, but doesn't take water baths. She loves showers though! She how she exposes the skin on her back, likely to help cool off.

I don't think we've had a puffed up Burrow Owl before. It's amazing how big they can look!

She's getting spritzed from a spray bottle, so you can't really see the water in the screen caps,or even very much in the original video. I just thought she looked neat all puffed up.

From Paul Bannick

Western Screech Owl (Megascops kennicotti) A Western Screech responds to the setting sun by beginning to move to the entrance of its new roost cavity. > As the first of the fall leaves hit the ground, North America's resident (non-migratory) owls, such as Pygmy-0wls, Northern Spotted, Barred, Barn, Great Horned and and Eastern Screech Owls are fully independent from their parents and attempt to move into their first home-ranges, which include everything they need to survive including roost cavities.