Today's photos come from Sacramento poet Charles Smith. He notes, "[The photos] were taken at a rather well-known location by the side of the road in the fields east of Davis, where they nest despite severe habitat loss due to development pressures. While I don't get over there as often as I once did, my (unscientific) impression is that their numbers have continued to decline at this site."
We asked Charles if he had any burrowing owl poems, and he responded with the following excerpt from a longer piece. We think it conveys the sentiment of taking hope and courage from the resilience of the natural world.
From [ground|underground]:
I feel my body
age
& its discontents, physical
& otherwise
drive-by's
owls in the ground
still
alive
Have you seen any owls in the ground lately? Help document local burrowing owl populations via our Online Field Survey Form.
Charles Smith is a poet, photographer, and videographer living in Sacramento. The three pursuits sometimes commingle.