20 February 2022, San Diego Bird Festival, Big Day across the county

In more than a decade of choosing an annual ABA Bird of the Year, this year’s choice, the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), has the most personality. It’s hard to look at one posing near it’s burrow without seeing its defiant and endearing stance.

Good morning! pic.twitter.com/HrgaKTwgXL

— Wendy (@geococcyxcal) December 14, 2021

The owls, of course, take themselves seriously, choosing a mate, finding an appropriate prairie dog, ground squirrel or man-made burrow to nest in, and raising a family.

The owls have had recent success in Imperial County, California where many of these photos were taken. Unfortunately by 2019 their population in nearby San Diego County was down to 75 pairs due to habitat loss and destruction of the ground squirrels whose holes the birds rely on.

In 2020 researchers began to turn that around by releasing eight young owls at Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve. In the winter of 2020-2021, 24 pairs were reintroduced to man-made burrows at Ramona Grasslands Preserve. This winter they plan to reintroduce several more. The hope is that the young birds raised at Ramona will return to their birthplace to nest.

Read more about burrowing owls in San Diego County at San Diego Burrowing Owls get new homes.

If you want to see great photos every day of the cutest Bird of the Year, follow Wendy @geococcyxcal on Twitter.

They are so photogenic!

UPDATE 21 Feb 2022: Did not see a burrowing owl on this trip.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals)