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Burrowing Owls are small owls with long legs, short tails, spotted upper parts, white throat and eyebrows, and yellow eyes. Burrowing Owls are quiet but occasionally produce a variety of coos, warbles, chuckles, and screams. Unlike most owls, Burrowing Owls are active during the day as well as at night. They hunt close to the ground catching insects and small animals. Burrowing Owls live in treeless habitats with sparse vegetation and loose soil such as prairies, pastures, deserts, and airports. In parts of their range they are closely associated with prairie dogs and ground squirrels, whose burrows they use for nests. Both members of a pair enlarge an existing burrow or make a new burrow by digging with their beaks and kicking back soil with their feet. Burrowing Owls range from Canada to the tip of South America and include many subspecies. North American subspecies are year-round residents in the southwestern U.S., northern Mexico, and Florida-Caribbean (including SoCal), with partial summer migrations north to Canada and partial winter migrations south to Central America. Burrowing Owls are sparse in our area but are common around the Salton Sea. Burrowing Owls at Noble Creek Park in Beaumont a few years ago were reported on the local rare bird report as was our Jan. 26 sighting. The Birding Club is monitoring the sighting location but has not yet re-found the bird. However, Genie and Bill Cooper report that a couple had reported a Burrowing Owl in the same area a few years ago, providing reason for hope that we'll see Burrowing Owls again at Four Seasons. ~ Steve Edelman Birding CLUB The Birding Club welcomes beginning and experienced birders to start or hone bird identification skills. Our main activity is a monthly bird walk along Four Seasons' nature trails, which follow native riparian woodlands. We keep a list of all species observed at Four Seasons and take seasonal field trips to nearby birding hot spots. On Jan. 26 Mike Lilly reported and photographed our first Burrowing Owl, our bird of the month. This makes 92 bird species the club has documented within Four Seasons! Our monthly bird walk on Feb. 1 produced 23 species, highlighted by a sunny morning, some delightful new members, and a Downy Woodpecker (only the second sighting within Four Seasons). We meet on the first Saturday of the month at 8 am at the Potrero Creek (Trail A) trailhead at The Lodge parking lot. Email steve.h.edelman@gmail.com for current schedule and information. ~ Steve Edelman FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2020 37 Bird of the Month The Birding Club during Feb. 1 bird walk This fuzzy photo, reminiscent of photos of other rarities such as Big foot and extraterrestrials, is Four Seasons' first documented Burrowing Owl. Photograph by Mike Lilly during his Jan. 26 walk on Trail D Burrowing Owls. Photo by Jim Rains Our Savior's Lutheran — ELCA • Our Worship 8 & 10:30 am • 20 Twelve Step Groups • Kid's Nite Wed., 5:30 pm 1320 W. Williams, Banning (951) 849-3343 oursaviorsbanningca.com

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