As migratory birds, the Burrowing Owls that breed in prairie Canada over-winter in southern Texas and central Mexico. Using various techniques, including leg bands, radio-transmitters, and feather chemistry, researchers are able to track the owls. Scientists at Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service, together with American and Mexican biologists, continue to investigate their wintering grounds to determine if there are any factors which contribute to their rapid decline in numbers. Recent studies show that counts of burrowing owls in central Mexico are the highest they have been in four years.
Factors for Their Decline
There are several factors contributing to the decline of the Burrowing Owl. Low productivity and high post-fledging mortality are among the most significant. Other reasons include the lack of burrows, loss of nesting habitat, and road kills.
Pairs of Burrowing Owls use abandoned ground squirrel, badger, and prairie dog burrows as their primary nesting site. However, these animals are often considered pests and killed. Recently, there has been a significant decline in ground squirrels due to aggressive hunting practices. This negatively impacts the owl population because it limits the number of suitable sites for nesting, roosting, and caching food.
The owls usually maintain a number of burrows within their home range. Once baby owls are old enough to venture outside the nesting burrow, they are often divided into two groups and placed in separate burrows. Splitting the brood provides some protection against predation. If one nesting site is detected, the entire brood will not be lost.
These extra holes are used as escape terrain for protection from predators. When a male adult returns to the nesting site with food, the young owls often run out to greet him making them vulnerable to predators. The extra burrows provide additional safe havens for the young owls to quickly find protection.
Conservation Efforts
Conservation and recovery activities are critical for this species at risk. Steps are being taken to slow the decline in Burrowing Owl numbers so that it does not become extinct in Canada. The Habitat Stewardship Program and the National Recovery Plan are just two examples of the conservation activities taking place on a national level.
The Habitat Stewardship Program helps Canadians conserve wildlife habitat. The project provides money for conservation agreements with non-government organizations working with land holders, conservation groups, and municipal governments.
The National Recovery Plan for the Burrowing Owl was recently revised in 2001. The goal of the plan is to reverse the owl's decline so that the population increases to a self-sustaining level.
There are also numerous conservation activities taking place at the provincial level. For example, under the Operation Burrowing Owl program, landowners participate in the conservation of Burrowing Owl nesting habitat. Members have voluntarily protected more than 50 000 acres of private land and more than 100 000 acres of public land. Currently close to 500 landowners protect over 600 sites for the Burrowing Owl.
Canadians are very important to the future of the Burrowing Owl. For information on how to help, visit Environment Canada's Burrowing Owl Web site.
Erratum: In the original text, the Burrowing Owl was mistakenly identified as "the smallest of the owl species". The correction now reads: It is a small species of owl.
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