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kevin@kevinnelson.com   909-815-6116

There is plenty of wildlife to be found in an urban setting, if you look for it. These are animals whose presence is at first glance somewhat surprising, but upon more detailed study makes sense. These photos were taken in a large, grassy field surrounded on three sides by light industrial buildings and on the fourth by a major street and airport runway. Prey animals go where there is food, and with hundreds of ground squirrel burrows dotting the landscape, food is plentiful. That explains the presence of Red-Tailed hawks, who hunt from the streetlights. I was more surprised to see quite a few coyotes, but these adaptable canines are well-known for being able to live among people. I suspect that they, too, live in burrows but I have never located one. Most of the times I saw them they were hunting in pairs, separated by a fair distance, but always in eye contact with each other.

It doesn’t look like a Burrowing Owl could take down a large ground squirrel, but according to what I’ve read, they do.  They also roost in burrows excavated by these squirrels . They eat other small mammals, insects and smaller birds, which are also plentiful here. One shown here appears to have made a home, or at least temporary shelter, of a sewer drain.

Most of these photos were taken with a long lens ( Sigma 100-300 f4) from inside a car. These animals are quite wary, especially the coyotes, and quickly move away when approached on foot. They seem not to take much notice of vehicles, which probably aren’t seen by them as a threat. Ethically, I believe that if an animal is disturbed enough by your presence to take flight, you probably ought not to be there, or find a way to approach that does not disturb them.

Of all the birds, I find owls to be the most intriguing. I like all raptors, or birds of prey, because of the way they look, behave and fly, but there are a few things about owls that set them apart for me.

Owls have huge eyes relative to the size of their bodies. They can make up as much as 5% of an owl's body weight. Although owls don't have as wide a field of vision as humans ( 270* vs 170* ) they have twice as many vertebrae, and can thus swivel their necks 270 degrees, almost a complete circle, and can turn their head almost upside down! Did you know that if humans' eyes were they same size as an owl's relative to body size, they would be the size of baseballs?

Because they hunt at night, owls also have outstanding hearing. Some species have asymmetrical ear openings, which allow sound to reach each side of the head at different times. The owl can detect a difference in time as small as 30 millionth of a second! This allows the owl to pinpoint the direction of prey. A similar feature works vertically, so an owl can instantly determine if prey is above or below its line of sight.

Some owls (Great Horned Owls, for example) have tufts of feathers which appear to be ears. They aren't ears, however, they are simply a feather display.

Owls have the ability to fly silently. If you’ve ever had an owl fly past you, it can be quite unnerving. Its almost as if a ghost bird went by. They accomplish this by means of comb-like fluting on the leading edge of their wings, which effectively muffles sound. This, combined with large wing size to limit the need for excess flapping, allow them to fly silently. This accomplishes two thing- they can more effectively sneak up on prey, and they can use their hearing to more effectively locate prey.

Owls have been a topic of art and cultural lore for ages. I've included my favorite use of an owl in artwork. A Snowy Owl on the cover of the greatest rock band’s second album- what could be better?

source: www.owlpages.com

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