Catt-Trax 2 - Cordoba - Comments

Thanks Argentine Farmer

Danny Catt — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 19:25:57 -0700

Gracias for taking the time to add more info to the blog! :)

Cheers, Danny

In Argentina

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 17:52:41 -0700

In Argentina the adults owls attack the snakes to defend their baby owls,

argentine farmer:)

Thanks Joey & Anonymous Argentine Farmer :)

Danny Catt — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:10:00 -0700

Hello to Joey and to our Argentine Farmer Friend!

Joey, I am so pleased that you took the time to say hello on the blog and send me a question or two... and I have to thank you, Argentine Farmer for answering Joey's questions.

I must admit I was a bit surprised to see so many Burrowing Owls in Argentina... I knew they had a wide distribution but I was amazed at how many I was able to see in my brief time on the Pampa of Argentina.

It sounds like things are going well in the COAST program so far this term! Sounds fantastic :) If you have any other questions... please feel free to pass them along.

Cheers

Danny :)

PS. You are correct in thinking that there may be predators on the ground that may enter the Burrowing Owl's "nest burrow" and attempt to prey on the adult owl or young owls. I remember reading a scientific paper many years ago that reviewed the sounds that Burrowing Owl's make while in their burrows. In the regions of their range where there are Rattlesnakes the sound that owls make is very similar to the rattle of a Rattlesnake. It was thought that this sound developed in Burrowing Owls as an anti-predator mechanism. Interesting idea :)

May I answer some of Joey´s questions?

Anonymous — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 10:50:37 -0700

Burrowing owls in Argentina live in burrows in the ground made by other animals suchas a type of little armadillos called mulitas and vizcachas, both do a lot of damage to crops so farmers are always chasing them , so burrowing owls use their caves as their nests. One predator of Burrowing owls I know is the skunk who eats their eggs or baby owls. Danny will know more about predators.-

As a farmer, Joey I can tell you we love burrowing owls , because they eat rodents and because is a symbol in the Argentine Pampa´s. many songs of our argentine folk music describe burrowing owls as part of our livings in the farm.-

An argentine farmer :)

Owls North and South

Joey from COAST — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:34:20 -0700

Dear Mr. Catt:

My name is Joey and I wanted to tell you about our experience with owls lately. You saw a very cool Burrowing owl on a farm and we just had Ted from O.W.L. bring a Great Horned Owl named Chance to our class. We also went to the Stein Valley with hopes of seeing or hearing a Spotted Owl, but we didn't have any luck. Maybe we were too loud and enthusiastic to see much wildlife! We were amazed to learn that owls have such incredible hearing and now we have learned from you, that the Burrowing owl lives in many different regions. Does a Burrowing owl really "burrow" into a hole as the name implies? Wouldn't it be eaten by its predators if it were to burrow on the ground? What are its predators in Argentina? The farmers in BC have learned that OWLS are critical to the survival of their crops, as in eating the rodents. Do farmers in Argentina think the same way?

Your thoughts are very much appreciated. I really like the photos you have taken.

Your friend up north,

Joey