{"id":46845,"date":"2017-05-18T05:46:46","date_gmt":"2017-05-18T11:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=46845"},"modified":"2025-10-14T14:34:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T19:34:56","slug":"adult-western-burrowing-owl-on-an-old-fence-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/05\/18\/adult-western-burrowing-owl-on-an-old-fence-post\/","title":{"rendered":"Adult Western Burrowing Owl On An Old Fence Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdultAdult male Western Burrowing Owl on an old fence post – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 320, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I love all birds, even birds that some people tend to ignore when it comes to bird photography but I have to admit that I am particularly fond of photographing owls, especially Burrowing Owls.<\/p>\n

Burrowing Owls are diurnal which means they are active during the day time hours and because they prefer wide open spaces such as grasslands, rolling hills, and deserts, I am able to spot them even from a long distance as they stand outside their burrows, perch on nearby bushes or stand on top of fence posts.<\/p>\n

\"WesternWestern Burrowing Owl standing on one foot – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 320, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Burrowing Owls have expressive faces with their bright yellow, forward facing eyes and that alone endears them to me but their behaviors are also another reason why I adore them.<\/p>\n

While the adult Burrowing Owls are wonderful to photograph it is the young owls that I find the most enchanting because they are so animated while they learn to fly, hunt and relate to the world outside of their burrows.<\/p>\n

They can appear to be comical, serious and playful all within a short period of time which allows me many opportunities to photograph them in different poses and exhibiting visually interesting behaviors too.<\/p>\n

It won’t be long before the young Burrowing Owls<\/span><\/a> in northern Utah start to show up outside of their burrows and I am very much looking forward to photographing them again.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Burrowing Owl photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love all birds, even birds that some people tend to ignore when it comes to bird photography but I have to admit that I am particularly fond of photographing owls, especially Burrowing Owls. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":160403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1148,52,26],"tags":[4004,4226,4214,4098,898,4062,4099,3967,294,4104,11852,165,4516],"class_list":["post-46845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-burrowing-owls","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-behavior","tag-burrowing-owl","tag-desert","tag-fence-post","tag-male","tag-morning-light","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-perched","tag-ranchlands","tag-spring","tag-western-burrowing-owl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-adult-mia-mcpherson-7603.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-cbz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25720,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/06\/23\/a-morning-spent-at-a-burrowing-owl-burrow\/","url_meta":{"origin":46845,"position":0},"title":"Morning Spent At A Burrowing Owl Burrow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I posted an image of Burrowing Owl siblings that I found in northern Utah and today I am posting images of that burrow after spending yesterday morning being delighted by them once more.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Burrowing Owl juvenile fluttering its wings, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owls-juvenile-balance-mia-mcpherson-8914.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owls-juvenile-balance-mia-mcpherson-8914.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owls-juvenile-balance-mia-mcpherson-8914.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owls-juvenile-balance-mia-mcpherson-8914.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1441,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/11\/23\/adult-burrowing-owls\/","url_meta":{"origin":46845,"position":1},"title":"Adult Burrowing Owls","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I felt it was time to put the beauty of the adult Burrowing Owls in the limelight.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult western Burrowing Owl in morning light, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-mia-mcpherson-adult-0411.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-mia-mcpherson-adult-0411.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-mia-mcpherson-adult-0411.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-mia-mcpherson-adult-0411.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26026,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/07\/01\/a-bundle-of-western-burrowing-owls\/","url_meta":{"origin":46845,"position":2},"title":"Bundle of Western Burrowing Owls","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I thought I would share some images I have taken of Western Burrowing Owls that I took over several days spent with them in Box Elder County, Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Burrowing Owl about to land on a barbed wire fence, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-flight-mia-mcpherson-8669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-flight-mia-mcpherson-8669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-flight-mia-mcpherson-8669.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-flight-mia-mcpherson-8669.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98321,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/12\/20\/aba-bird-of-the-year-2022-the-burrowing-owl\/","url_meta":{"origin":46845,"position":3},"title":"ABA Bird Of The Year 2022 – The Burrowing Owl!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It was announced yesterday that the Burrowing Owl is the 2022 ABA Bird of the Year! Burrowing Owls are small, long-legged, sandy-colored, charismatic owls with bright yellow eyes.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Burrowing Owl on a stump in soft morning light, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/burrowing-owl-immature-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-7693.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/burrowing-owl-immature-morning-light-mia-mcpherson-7693.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-owlets-mia-mcpherson-7807.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-owlets-mia-mcpherson-7807.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-owlets-mia-mcpherson-7807.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-owlets-mia-mcpherson-7807.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25815,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/06\/25\/more-fun-with-burrowing-owls-and-the-dangers-of-barbed-wire\/","url_meta":{"origin":46845,"position":5},"title":"More Fun with Burrowing Owls and the Dangers of Barbed Wire","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent yesterday morning photographing Burrowing Owls in northern Utah again and while most of it was fun there was something I found that broke my heart.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Burrowing Owl calling while in flight, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-calling-flight-mia-mcpherson-0655.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-calling-flight-mia-mcpherson-0655.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-calling-flight-mia-mcpherson-0655.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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