Tiny burrowing owl in big trouble, California wildlife officials race to help
SACRAMENTO — It's one of the smallest owl species in the world, but the loss of the California burrowing owl would be felt throughout our entire ecosystem and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is racing to save them.
Jordan Graham with the CDFW says they are thinking of new creative ideas to restore habitats for the owl, now under consideration to be listed under the California Endangered Species Act.
"We are doing a pilot project to test out some artificial burrowing habitat enclosures," Graham said. "We have started building them on one of our protected properties, using it for installing these habitat structures."
The number of western burrowing owls has been rapidly declining in recent years, mostly because of loss of habitat from housing developments and urban sprawl.
Michele Dodge, a wildlife rescue expert, photographed a pair of California burrowing owls living in an old abandoned tire last month.
"I'm always excited to see a burrowing owl, or really any owl but it also makes me sad that here they are, eking out an existence living in a tire, an abandoned old tire," Dodge said. "It's kind of a sad thing because they are beautiful animals, and here they are in this huge piece of dirty old rotten rubber."
That's why the work by CDFW to install artificial habitats is so important. They are using protected lands in El Dorado County. The CDFW says the breeding season starts in February and they hope they will be successful in giving the owls a place to nest.
"They are one of the only owls that uses a burrow, and they can't dig their own, so they will inhabit abandoned boroughs from ground squirrels or badgers," Graham said.
The CDFW predicts there are as few as 6,500 breeding pairs left in California but they are nearing localized extinction in places like the Bay Area. Advocates like Dodge fear that if we lose this species, it will have a ripple effect through the rest of the animal kingdom and also an impact on humans as well.
"So the loss of one species such as the burrowing owl, might mean that we're overrun with insects or rodents," Dodge said.
The CDFW won't know for some time if the artificial habitats are working to relocate some of the displaced owls, but they have taken a lot of time and resources to make sure it's as successful as possible.
"Even if it takes a little bit of effort to really make some big changes and make a big difference, especially in a protected wildlife area, then that's something we're hopeful about," Graham said.
The CDFW is also taking public comment about the decision to place the western burrowing owl on the protected species list. Weigh in here.
