With all the excitement over burrowing owls at Shoreline lately, I had to
seek 'em out for myself.
Last Friday morning after shooting interiors and exteriors at Kannon Do Zen
Center, I parked by Shoreline's temporary golf shop and walked across the
pavement to the nearby trail. I was so focused on walking the 100 paces
down that trail to find the hill I thought was ahead of me, I didn't see
the low dirt mound to my left until I'd walked past it.
Then I scanned around, and there they were. Those little guys always look
like refugees from the Saturday morning cartoons. The entire family tumbled
around the mound, maybe 8 birds - it was like a morning owl picnic.
I picked out one adult with its barred breast, swivelling its head
occasionally to keep an eye on juvenile antics and possible predators. It
stood in one spot, ignoring all the plain-breasted youngsters' activity.
http://tinyurl.com/aktqt
An old signpost in front of the mound was one young owl's favorite. He
stretched his wings in his best Marilyn Monroe imitation when he wasn't
casting suspicious looks on bicyclists and runners. http://tinyurl.com/a2mxg
Some of the little ones decided two pairs of eyes were better than one to
watch the silly photographer moving to get the best background blur.
http://tinyurl.com/8y6bo
Finally, the guy on the signpost got bored with the whole thing and yawned
hugely. http://tinyurl.com/9j8dy
Constant skywatching can help you survive. A northern harrier swooped in
for a snack, but the owls all disappeared down their burrows first. The
frustrated harrier flew off, and the owl show was over.
**************************************************************** --> See more owl images at http://tinyurl.com/c4jno. <-- ****************************************************************
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