Spring in the Altamont

We remained a ways off from the burrowing owls, not to disturb them.

Joe spotted a couple Swainson’s hawks gliding high overhead. Red-tails were hanging around a stand of eucalyptus trees and a ferruginous hawk was spotted on the horizon. 

Several Swainsons hawks passed high overhead.

 Joe also found a young king snake under a board. We took quite a few photos of the willing snake.

 

We found this very small king snake under a board.

 

 Burrowing owls were in their usual haunts. It was a nice day to observe.

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Grass Fire

The fire jumped a road and headed east across our property.

Or should I say Wildlands Fire – sounds bigger.

Never had a fire on our property before, before Friday that is.

Wasn’t sure what to think when our leasee called to say we’d been burned out. All the cattle were safe and moved. Ground fried.

Apparently somebody got a little careless at a nearby day use area and ignited the fire.

I decided to make a trip over on Sunday to see for myself. Everything seemed pretty normal, except the ground was black and anything that burned was gone, including a wood pile that we were expecting the haul to the dump – saved us a couple thousand dollars.

A large wood pile was stacked for hauling. This is what was left after the fire.

The leasee was accurate in her evaluation. About 40 acres of grass remained with about 100 acres burned, somewhere between 25 and 35% of the property. And, a five-acre area of wetland  which refused to burn.

All in all, it wasn’t such a bad thing. Here are a few photos.

On the north boundary a main road stopped the fire.

The burrowing owl nest across the street was unscathed.

A collared dove nest seemed to be in tact.

The fire may have raged for a day, but all is quiet now and we are non-the worse off. In fact, you could say it was a net positive.

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California Burrowing Owls

Drove over to a new conservation property yesterday to take a look around and spotted one of many special status species that will be protected. Years ago we used to routinely see these critters at the local golf course, but over time their habitat has dwindled.

Once the golf course managers poisoned the ground squirrels the owls disappeared from that spot, but they’re still  in the neighborhood. The best place to find them is on heavily grazed grassland. Their eyesight seems to be their best defense mechanism and they thrive on open pastures where the young can dive into their burrow and the adults can fly for protection.

The burrowing owl depends upon the California ground squirrel to create its burrow.

Apparently a pair of owls was breeding at this site.

You often find the owls near home sites and small pastures where grazing is heavy.

Like many others, this burrowing owl lives near a residence.

Because the burrowing owl hunts during the day, they are typically more visible than other owl species. Often the adults are somewhat approachable.

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