A Day in the Life of a Burrowing Owl

At last week's city council meeting, members voted 6 to 1 to not leave in the General Plan the possibility for housing in North Bayshore.

One of the reasons—the protection of the burrowing owls.

The eight to 10 inch tall birds live in Shoreline Park and right now, according to the city's website, they are in their nesting period. This means that the males are busying trying to impress the females. Soon there'll be more little owls scurrying around North Bayshore.

The safety of the owls was also a consideration when Google approached the council about building its athletic and recreation fields near Garcia Avenue and Amphitheare Parkway in September 2010. Though the fields would encroach on owl habitat, the city agreed to allow Google to build in exchange for $20,000 to help move the owls. They now have a safer refuge area near Shoreline Golf Links.

Still not sure what the fuss is all about? If you've never seen a burrowing owl in action, here's a fun video from the Science Friday program.

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