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Athene cunicularia
As in the photos...this is a smaller-sized owl, with long legs, who live in burrows dug by other animals including prairie dogs and desert tortoises. The adult sides and back are brown spotted, as in the 3rd photo above.
The owls in this spotting are living in burrows in north Las Vegas. The burrows are in a protected area in an orchard, surrounded by housing developments. There are a combination of artificial and natural burrows in the area. Some owls in this area are part-time residents...migrating to S. Nevada from Mexico.
We have been working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, as well as researchers from the University of Idaho to monitor owl burrows in southern Nevada to determine their success in hatching and raising the young chicks. There is concern that owl populations in this area are decreasing, and we are attempting to measure the reproduction rate. This is one of a series of postings I have done on burrowing owls in Arizona and Nevada. The chicks pictured in the first two photos range in age from 18 to 22 weeks old. The clutch in this burrow has so far produced 7 young owls. They are currently in process of exploring outside their burrow and learning how to hunt, fly and prepare to carry on in a big world (as well as generally just look cute). Mom and Dad, third photo, are pretty busy training and keeping them fed...and in a few months will be looking forward to a well-earned vacation.
Spotted on May 18, 2017
Submitted on May 25, 2017
17 Comments
Thanks AntónioGinjaGinja for the nice comment.
Beautiful spotting Jim,super cute felows :-) congrats on the SOTW and thanks for sharing
Thanks Rob...I appreciate the recognition.
Brilliant Jim, Congrats on your SOTW, very well deserved. Great notes too as usual.
Thanks Daniele, and all who commented. Amazingly, these owls were born a month ago...and are currently on the verge of learning to fly. From the moment they are hatched, their lives are on "fast forward", or perish.
Congratulations Jim! These little owls are just so cute. Thank you for very informative notes and for sharing :)
Too cute by far. Nice spotting - congrats.
Fantastic, Jim! Great series and well deserved SOTW.
Great spot!
Congrats, love image #2
Congrat's Jim. This is an awesome spotting, and they are amazing animals.
Congratulations Jim, this fantastic series with highly informative notes has been voted Spotting of the Week! Thank you for continuing to share your work on Project Noah!
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Thanks, Ashley!
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Thanks Hema, Sarah and Polilla...I wish I could take these owls home with me.
WOW!!! GREAT series, Jim!!
superb! thanks for saving the owls.