Date: 4/19/25 12:18 pm From: Sally M. Walters via groups.io <bajaowl...> Subject: Re: [EBB-Sightings] Burrowing Owls in Chavez Park - Season Wrapup
Dear Martin, I am pleased that someone is regularly surveying the area.
I’m unsure what you mean by "never seen here before.” There have been burrowing owls in that area for as long as I have been birding in the Bay Area, and before it was restored and recreated as a park. Ground squirrels and rock slope protection have made this location ideal for ground squirrels and burrowing owls. Coutenay Peddle (deceased in the early 2000s) led trips in the area for Golden Gate Audubon for a long time. You can check old newsletters for his reports. This was well before eBird.
I’m glad you mentioned a Ground Squirrel eating a vole, as burrowing owls depend on them, and I suspect it’s not off topic.
Sally M. Walters
Sacramento
<bajaowl...>
> On Apr 19, 2025, at 11:12 AM, Martin Nicolaus via groups.io <manicolaus...> wrote:
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> The last Burrowing Owl sighted in Cesar Chavez Park was March 21. I've posted a detailed wrapup of the season at this link <https://chavezpark.org/review-of-the-2024-2025-burrowing-owl-winter-season/>. It was an extraordinary season: earliest arrival and also latest arrival ever, latest departure, possibly six or seven owls coming through, days when visitors could see three owls in a short walk, on one occasion two owls together -- never seen before here. Also saw Ground Squirrel eating vole, but that's off topic.
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> Martin Nicolaus
> <manicolaus...> <mailto:<manicolaus...> >
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