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Burrowing Owl Photos

Photography by Terry Sohl

My Favorite: Burrowing Owls are relatively easy to find during the summer months in South Dakota. If you find a prairie dog town in the central or western part of the state, you have a good chance of also finding Burrowing Owls. I've made many treks west to the wonderful grasslands in central and western South Dakota, but my favorite Burrowing Owl photo is the one that came as the biggest surprise.  In August 2008 I was returning home from a work trip, flying into Sioux Falls. I was making the 8 mile drive back to our home in Brandon, taking a paved road that didn't get a huge amount of traffic, when I saw a bird on a fence post up in the distance. As I passed, I had to do a double-take...Burrowing Owl!! I slowly reversed to confirm, and yes! A Burrowing Owl, just a few miles from our home!

Burrowing Owls used to be more broadly spread in the Great Plains, but with the plowing of land for cropland, such as the majority of land in eastern South Dakota, their habitat had been removed. There's thus a relatively sharp cutoff in sightings down the middle of the state, with few sightings in eastern South Dakota. No breeding had been confirmed within ~150 miles of where this bird was found. And as I soon learned, it wasn't just one, it was a breeding pair with young! There was an old badger hole in an alfalfa field that they seemed to be using as their home base. There were at least 3 young and the two adults, and I had a wonderful time that August and September watching the little family, before they drifted off one by one and headed south for the winter. My favorite photo here may be the ONLY bird I have photos from on my entire website, taken at night. I had a blast that night, watching them feed on grasshoppers and other insect critters near the road.

Burrowing Owl - Athene cunicularia 

Burrowing Owl 1 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 2 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 3 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 4 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 1

Burrowing Owl 2

Burrowing Owl 3

Burrowing Owl 4

July 18th, 2004 

July 17th 2004 

July 18th, 2004 

July 18th, 2004 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Near Pierre, South Dakota 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Young owl with inquisitive look on a fence post 

Head-on view of owl on a fence post 

Young first-year owl at the entrance to the nest burrow 

Pair of juvenile owls at the entrance to nesting burrow 

Burrowing Owl 5 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 6 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 7 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 8 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 5

Burrowing Owl 6

Burrowing Owl 7

Burrowing Owl 8

July 4th, 2005 

July 27th, 2009 

July 4th, 2007 

July 4th, 2007 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Owl on wooden fence post 

Closeup of owl poking its head out of a nesting burrow 

Owl in flight with head turned towards camera 

Owl in flight 

Burrowing Owl 9 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 10 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 11 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 12 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 9

Burrowing Owl 10

Burrowing Owl 11

Burrowing Owl 12

July 4th, 2007 

July 29th, 2007 

July 4th, 2007 

July 29th, 2007 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Owl in flight over prairie dog town 

Adult owl perched on top of a wooden fence post 

Adult owl perched on top of a wooden fence post  

Owl and habitat, sitting at nest site in a prairie dog town 

Burrowing Owl 13 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 14 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 15 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 16 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 13

Burrowing Owl 14

Burrowing Owl 15

Burrowing Owl 16

August 22nd, 2008 

August 22nd, 2008 

September 2008 

September 2008 

Near Brandon, South Dakota 

Near Brandon, South Dakota 

Near Brandon, South Dakota 

Near Brandon, South Dakota 

Alert owl on dirt road at night 

Owl hunting grasshoppers at night along dirt road 

First year bird sitting at entrance of nesting burrow in an alfalfa field

Owl wish freshly caught cicada 

Burrowing Owl 17 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 18 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 19 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 20 - Athene cunicularia 

Burrowing Owl 17

Burrowing Owl 18

Burrowing Owl 19

Burrowing Owl 20

July 27th, 2015 

July 27th, 2015 

July 27th, 2015 

July 3rd, 2017 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Fort Pierre National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, South Dakota 

Adult in flight with sunny blue sky

Hovering adult starting into camera 

Single bird perched on wooden fence post 

Single adult owl perched on the ground in typical grassland habitat 

Burrowing Owl 21 - Athene cunicularia

Burrowing Owl 22 - Athene cunicularia 

Burrowing Owl 23 - Athene cunicularia 

 

Burrowing Owl 21 

Burrowing Owl 22 

Burrowing Owl 23 

 

July 5th, 2020 

July 5th, 2020  

July 5th, 2020  

 

Hughes County, South Dakota 

Hughes County, South Dakota 

Hughes County, South Dakota  

 

Single owl sitting at the entrance to a nesting burrow 

Alert adult standing on top of a wooden fence post 

Adult perched on top of a metal fence post 

 

Click here for the species description page for the Burrowing Owl

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Please mail any comments/suggestions/additional links for this page to: Terry L. Sohl