Some days I can't tell which way is up
by Judi Dressler
Title
Some days I can't tell which way is up
Artist
Judi Dressler
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Burrowing owls are so incredibly cute when they're little! Early morning shot; hence the big eyes. This adorable young owl is one of four siblings remaining in a family of burrowing owls. She is still being fed by her parents, but is hunting on her own too, and is getting better at catching grasshoppers and other bugs. You can see some barring at the top of her chest, which is the beginning of barring that will cover her entire underside as an adult.
I don't recall seeing an adult burrowing owl do this head turn, but the little ones do it regularly. Their eyes are fixed in position, so they can't swivel their eyes the way we do, and so this helps them judge position and distance to be able to size up prey or a threat. They can even turn their heads further -- up to 270 degrees!
Burrowing owls are born underground in burrows, often times these are burrows built by prairie dogs. They hunt crickets, grasshoppers, and other bugs, as well as small mammals such as mice, and small reptiles.
This photo was taken near Greeley, Colorado, on July 26th, 2017, at 6:38 a.m.
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Won 1st Place in FAA's FUN ANIMAL IMAGES contest on 5/26/2022
Tied for 1st Place in FAA's Funny Animal contest on 4/17/2022
Won 1st Place in FAA's THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMM contest, on 2/28/21
Won 1st Place in FAA OWLS contest; I don't remember the date.
Won 2nd Place in FAA's WILDLIFE MAKING FUNNY FACES contest on 5/8/2020
Won 3rd Place in FAA's VERTICAL IMAGES contest 2020
Won 3rd Place in FAA's Funny Animals contest on 11/9/2020
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Descriptive keywords and tags for this image include burrowing owl, burrowing owls, owl, owls, funny, comical, cute, adorable, sweet, darling, owl on mullein, mullein stalk, mullein, birds, nature, bird, juvenile owl, juvenile burrowing owl, big eyes, eyes, colorado, athene cunicularia, prairie owl, strigiformes, wildlife, young owl, strigidae, striginae, raptor, bird of prey, fauna, cunicularia, photograph, photo, dressler, and judi dressler.
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August 3rd, 2017
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