{"id":5411,"date":"2012-07-28T07:18:40","date_gmt":"2012-07-28T13:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=5411"},"modified":"2025-10-12T19:42:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T00:42:12","slug":"burrowing-owls-most-of-the-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/07\/28\/burrowing-owls-most-of-the-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Burrowing Owls – Most of the Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m taking a break today from posting photos of my recent trip to southwestern Montana to share an image of a Burrowing Owl\u00a0family from here in Utah that I created a few days ago.<\/p>\n

\"FamilyFamily portrait of Burrowing Owls – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 235mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I should mention that not all of the Burrowing Owls<\/span><\/a> from this family are shown in this frame, there are possibly 4 more owlets that aren’t perched on the sagebrush with the rest of the birds. I’d sure love an image where all of them were present.<\/p>\n

I shouldn’t anthropomorphize but I can’t help but compare this image to some of the family portraits I have seen of my family and other families.<\/p>\n

Juvenile Burrowing Owl on the far left: “Ok, I’m here, standing straight and giving you my best side. Take the photo already!”<\/p>\n

Juvenile Burrowing Owl, 2nd from left: “I hate having my photo taken, I’m a little shy so I will hide”.<\/p>\n

Adult Burrowing Owl, 3rd from left: “Where the heck are the other 4 kids?”<\/p>\n

Juvenile Burrowing Owl, 4th from left: “I’m the clown of the family!”<\/p>\n

Adult Burrowing Owl, 5th from left: “Junior, stop being a clown and smile for the camera”.<\/p>\n

Juvenile Burrowing Owl, 6th from the left: “Wait, I have got something in front of my eye!!”.<\/p>\n

I remember how challenging it was for my mom to get us all in the picture, to have us all looking at the camera, how my brother was always making silly faces and then the flash blinding us all.\u00a0Those memories\u00a0makes me laugh now.<\/p>\n

I had to zoom back to 235mm to fit all of the owls into\u00a0the frame.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I should mention that not all of the Burrowing Owls from this family are shown in this frame, there are possibly 4 more owlets that aren’t perched on the sagebrush<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":160012,"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":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,52,26],"tags":[4004,4051,55,2663,4214,11978,5689,4067,56,3967,294,4353,4104,4046,153,4057,2315,4193],"class_list":["post-5411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-burrowing-owls","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-adults","tag-athene-cunicularia","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-burrowing-owl","tag-desert-island","tag-family","tag-immature","tag-juveniles-2","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-owls-of-utah","tag-perched","tag-portrait","tag-raptors","tag-sagebrush","tag-summer-3","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owls-utah-mia-mcpherson-5769.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1ph","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8156,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/04\/21\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-on-a-sagebrush\/","url_meta":{"origin":5411,"position":0},"title":"Burrowing Owl Juvenile On A Sagebrush","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I can't resist photographing Burrowing Owls, I just can't. They are so much fun to see and observe.","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":"Juvenile Burrowing Owl attempting to regain its balance, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0100.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0100.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0100.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0100.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8621,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/19\/western-burrowing-owls-are-declining-throughout-their-range\/","url_meta":{"origin":5411,"position":1},"title":"Western Burrowing Owls Are Declining Throughout Their Range","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Western Burrowing Owls populations are declining, human population explosion and subsequent urban development plus habitat degradation has reduced Burrowing Owl populations by 60% and that number is still rising.","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 and juvenile Burrowing Owl on sagebrush, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owls-adult-juvie-mia-mcpherson-5881.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-adult-juvie-mia-mcpherson-5881.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owls-adult-juvie-mia-mcpherson-5881.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owls-adult-juvie-mia-mcpherson-5881.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5273,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/07\/02\/burrowing-owls-they-make-me-smile\/","url_meta":{"origin":5411,"position":2},"title":"Burrowing Owls – They Make Me Smile","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"When I photograph Burrowing Owls I can't resist smiling, especially when they are juveniles. Just seeing them makes me grin.","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":"Pair of juvenile Burrowing Owls just after sunrise perched on sage, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-chicks-mia-mcpherson-1813.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-chicks-mia-mcpherson-1813.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-chicks-mia-mcpherson-1813.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-chicks-mia-mcpherson-1813.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26957,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/07\/27\/it-is-tough-being-a-bird-photographer-when-it-comes-to-burrowing-owls\/","url_meta":{"origin":5411,"position":3},"title":"It Is Tough Being A Bird Photographer When It Comes To Burrowing Owls","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"You might wonder why I think it is tough being a bird photographer when it comes to Burrowing Owls.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile Burrowing Owl perched on a watering trough, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-watering-trough-mia-mcpherson-8630.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-juvenile-watering-trough-mia-mcpherson-8630.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-watering-trough-mia-mcpherson-8630.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-watering-trough-mia-mcpherson-8630.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15267,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/06\/24\/adult-burrowing-owl-and-the-great-salt-lake\/","url_meta":{"origin":5411,"position":4},"title":"Adult Burrowing Owl and the Great Salt Lake","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Burrowing Owls are one of my favorite subjects to photograph and to get one perched with the Great Salt Lake in the background was wonderful.","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 Burrowing Owl and the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/burrowing-owl-adult-great-salt-lake-mia-mcpherson-4928.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/burrowing-owl-adult-great-salt-lake-mia-mcpherson-4928.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/burrowing-owl-adult-great-salt-lake-mia-mcpherson-4928.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/burrowing-owl-adult-great-salt-lake-mia-mcpherson-4928.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3090,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/09\/11\/sequel-to-burrowing-owls-loved-to-death\/","url_meta":{"origin":5411,"position":5},"title":"Sequel to: Burrowing Owls – Loved to Death?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this year in March I wrote an article titled \"Burrowing Owls - Loved to Death?\" and this post is a sequel to it.","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":"Young Burrowing Owl on a concrete wall, causeway to Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0364.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-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0364.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/burrowing-owl-juvenile-mia-mcpherson-0364.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}