Wednesday

Millions of Americans have been battered by torrential rain and high winds over the last few days. But there's always someone out there who feels your pain.

In this case it's a cute but bedraggled burrowing owl who was captured looking disconsolate in a downpour by wildlife photographer Megan Lorenz.

Lorenz visited Cape Coral, Florida, in April and told Rex Features: 'I had a few days of heavy rain. Typically people that go on vacation don't want it to rain but photographers are a different breed!

'I knew that once it started raining the burrowing owls would dance around, spreading their wings and giving me some great photo opportunities,' she said.

The photographer continued: 'One evening in particular, the rain just kept on coming down and it was pelting hard enough to sting your skin.

'At that point one of the owls flew up to the roof and looked completely miserable.' These shots capture the emotions of this endangered species with matted feathers from heavy rain.


Burrowing owls are pint-sized birds with long legs that inhabit open, treeless areas. As the name suggests, they live in burrows created by animals like squirrels or prairie dogs.

The birds used to be found in suitable areas all over the Americas but their numbers have dwindled due to habitat destruction.

Now the burrowing owls are a species of special concern in Florida and large parts of the western U.S. They are endangered in Canada and threatened in Mexico.


Unlike most owls, these birds are active during the day, though they avoid intense afternoon heat and do most of their hunting at dawn and dusk.

The burrowing owls spend most of their time on the ground where their brown feathers provide some camouflage from predators.

The greatest threat to these owls, however, is the loss of their habitat due to land development.
Source




Responses to "Bedraggled burrowing owl shows disgust at getting caught in torrential rain (Photos)"

  1. Fili says:

    They are beautiful... thank you for sharing them

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