Contra Loma Burrowing Owl July 2009
OK - so the first thing I have to say is that if you don't want to see a picture of a burrowing owl, you're probably not going to like this page. I'd heard that there was a burrowing owl at Contra Loma, so headed down to see it. I think there's a family with two chicks, but don't quote me on that. Anyway, it was probably a bad idea to go to one of the parks that has bar-b-ques setup on July 4th as it seems that everyone had the idea to come out with their families. I went into the park and I've not seen one so busy. Thankfully I asked the person on the gate where the burrowing owls were so I could go and see if I could find them or not. Apparently I'd driven past them as they were outside the actual park by the welcome sign. Interestingly, when giving me directions, the lady told me I couldn't miss them .... apparently I had on the way in, so there was every chance I would do the same on the way out.
Well, I parked where I thought they would be and did actually find them pretty easily. The first photo was taken without me having the gps on so it isn't tagged. I kept it as it captured two of the birds, just before the baby went into its burrow. After that, it was a one bird show. When I returned with my gps, it had flown onto the top of a pole which made for some pretty good photos. It did get agitated at one point when a red-tailed hawk flew over, but calmed down after that.
Now, what happened next was pretty interesting. A couple of people moved their cars near where the birds were, so I decided to go back and get my car, move it round and see if any of the chicks re-appeared. Whilst retrieving my car, someone entering the park saw the bird on the pole, swung round and disturbed it. I moved my car anyway, sat there and was just about to give up when it flew across the road. I didn't see where it went until I walked round the behemoth of a 4x4 that I'd parked next to and saw the owl on a pole on the side of the path. I took some photos of it and then started to walk up the path towards the bird, but on the far side of the path to it. I got pretty close - probably within about 6 feet and it didn't seem to mind me taking a few photos. It only flew away when a woman came jumping out of her car with two dogs (seems this is a popular dog walking place). There was a man in a car that turned up and saw the whole thing and kept saying how amazed he was. To be honest, I think the birds are that used to people that they don't really notice them. The hawk was a different matter - that was a long way away, but the owl was concerned with its presence.
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