We have finally made it back home from our winter migration to Arizona. This was a first for us this year as we usually make our way to south Texas. Not our most memorable trip by any means as the cold decided to chase us all the way there and then quickly caught back up to us on our way back. Not sure I can blame that on Arizona, although for two years in a row Linda has caught Covid in the week heading into a planned trip out there. We have decided it cursed! Not all disappointing. Hiking the Arizona mountains was a lot of fun, new birds added to the life list, a new RV for Linda and I had the opportunity to spend my birthday in Vegas. Suspect back to Texas next winter, but we’ll possibly take another trip out to Arizona later in the year to give it a fair chance. Oh, worst part is I managed to catch some wicked crud in Las Cruces on the way back and now having to deal with that crap.
Before getting into today’s featured feathered friend, a quick self-pat on the back. January officially kicked off my 17th year of blogging here at Intrigued.
Time has certainly flown by along with all the features we try and bring you each and every month. A big thank you to Brad and his staff (Jan and Allyson) that have shared their stories these last couple of years bringing new sights and wildlife species to the Intrigued story. Will continue to have more posts coming from that team. Extending our appreciation to the behind the scenes Intrigued staff that make this machine hum and especially to all our readers who make this effort so enjoyable. Raise your glasses to an exciting 17th year and beyond!
Okay, enough of the self-praising, let’s get to today’s featured feathered friend.
Hit the jump to read more about our yellow-eyed friend.
Up until about 2 years ago, the Burrowing Owl has been at the top of my “to check off” species life list. Thanks to a surprise mention about an irrigation pipe on a Chicago birding blog, we managed to get that check while on our Texas wintering trip (link here). That broke the ice, if you will, as now we have had the pleasure of seeing them numerous times since – three sightings last year alone.
Today’s sighting comes to you from the second of those encounters. Turns out the Burrowing Owl was back at the irrigation pipe last year for the first check of the year. Linda then learned about one hanging out at Anahuac NWR. One of our favorite places to visit and always make plans to stop by even without this Burrowing sighting – consider this the cherry on top. The problem is Anahuac is a large place and all we had to go on was that it seen at its “cement cave”. Not a lot to go on, but Linda has an incredible knack for locating owls – my brother Ron calls her the Owl Whisperer thanks to her ability to find Snowy Owls (link here).
Somehow she did it again. We were driving along the main road into the refuge (past the auto-loop heading down to Frozen Point). Eventually we came to a small group of grazing cows when she promptly proclaimed “There it is!”. Some kind of sixth sense I’m telling ya’. As we pulled up closer, we noticed there was another car parked on the opposite side of the road. Linda quietly brought the Jeep to a stop and we quietly exited hoping the Owl was visible. As you can tell, the answer was affirmative. Note, we also spotted the other lady who was deep in the weeds off the road also taking shots – I’ve dealt with the hellspawn that live in Texas weeds – opted to leverage the reach of the Beast from the safety of the road.
I find most birders to be rather social and at a minimum cordial almost to a fault. That other observer…not so much. Never acknowledged us much less offer a greeting. Snapped several shots, picked up her gear and went back to the other side of the road. Quick mental check, did I remember to put deodorant on? Her exit left us alone with our watchful specimen.
We didn’t want to stress it any more than our presence already was. Honestly, it didn’t seem too concerned about us – an occasional glance to make sure we had not breached the protective barbed wire and then back to slowly scanning the other directions. Burrowing Owls amaze me. With all the ground threats in their kingdom, they seem to pick somewhat vulnerable locations to stake claim to their burrows. There is a mystique about Owls and stories of their escapades have surely gotten around. Their Great Owl kin in our parts will not hesitate to take out a Bald Eagle that encroaches on their hunting grounds. While snapping away, I noticed a Savannah Sparrow coming in from the side.
WHOOAAAAA NELLLY! Wrongly assumed I missed the encounter, but the Owl snapped its head around and literally stopped that bird in its tracks with its yellow-eyed glare. Full flight brakes, Houston we have a problem! Apparently my safety concerns were unwarranted…at least in the feathered kingdom. A quick 180 and that intruder was high-tailing it out of there (literally).
As nonchalant as it could, the Owl went about its patrol – immediate danger alleviated. My guess at the time was there were more dangerous critters to be concerned about. This was Anahuac and those tall grass fields could easily provide cover for much more formidable predators.
A foreshadowing, if you will, for an upcoming part two of this post. Not going to leave you with a feeling of dread – as far as we know, no harm came to our little cement cave dweller. Our interesting encounter came soon after calling it a day. Night was falling and we were on our way out of the park. Paul Harvey says you will need to come back for our next post in February to read “The rest of the story”.
Take care everyone, “Y’all come back now, ya hear!” (Paul Harvey put me in a nostalgic mood).
Life Intrigued 