By Martin
Nicolaus Oct.
10, 2018, 6 a.m.
The bird
stood on one foot on a rock at the edge of the water. It faced north, but
frequently rotated its head in both directions, showing its eyes in various
states of alertness — closed, squinting and wide open. It would occasionally
and suddenly swivel its head 180 degrees.
Had the
bird chosen a perch two feet east or west, it would have been hidden by
vegetation, and human eyes would probably not have seen it.
A ground
squirrel watched the bird carefully from a higher rock a few feet away. This
particular bird — a burrowing owl — is too small to attack ground squirrels,
but it is big and scary enough to evict ground squirrels from their burrows,
and take them over as their seasonal homes for the winter, if it intends to
stay. The owl first spotted around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday morning rested on a rock
and showed no interest in a burrow, however.
The burrowing
owl population has been slowly declining in California, and particularly in the
Bay Area, likely due to the impact of development. The owls that arrive here in
October, when they arrive, probably come from Idaho and points north, where
they breed in the summertime. They come here to escape the frigid northern
winters. If they stay, they’ll rest up and build their strength and then
migrate back north around March.
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