The Interpretive Center was abuzz with excitement last Thursday as two artificial Burrowing Owl burrows were created on a grassy, gently sloping area of the Interpretive Center grounds! Several Burrowing Owls had been found this year near the highway, but did not successfully fledge any young. This sparked the idea to create artificial burrows, which have worked well elsewhere. By choosing a location and setup for the artificial burrows that the owls would be attracted to, they should be more successful in the future.
So, with a desirable site identified, three Fish and Wildlife and two BLM employees dug through the rocky earth to create the burrows. A 55 gallon drum cut in half served as the burrow chamber and a 10 ft long piece of flexible black tubing was used for the entrance tunnel. A bottomless bucket was also inserted into the hole in the overturned drum to allow for easy access into the burrow. This access point will allow for bird banding, nest monitoring, and possible camera installation in the future.
Continual monitoring of the burrows is a planned part of this project. The Interpretive Center also hopes to capture some live footage of the owls next spring to educate visitors about them. Stay tuned for more information!
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Artificial chamber and entrance
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Burrow entrance
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Fish and Wildlife crew!
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Burrowing Owl Fun Facts
-One of the smallest owls in North America!
-They have long legs and distinctive white eyebrows that sit atop bright yellow eyes.
-Unlike most owls the males and females are of equal size and typically weigh only 6 oz. at maturity.
-The owls typically eat mammals in the spring and early summer but later they switch to insects (grasshoppers and beetles primarily).
-When alarmed, young birds make a hissing sound like a rattlesnake.
-Like many other ground dwelling animals, Burrowing Owls are in decline over much of their range due to land development by humans.
