Re: Burrowing Owl on AIC

[BirderB at aol dot com]

Kris is correct when she indicates that the Florida subspecies of the  
Burrowing Owl is the only Burrowing Owl that excavates its burrow,  despite the 
owl's name.  Burrowing Owls elsewhere use  abandoned badger burrows, as well as 
the burrows of other mammals.  There  has also been success with artificial 
burrows, such as buried boxes with  PVC pipe.  Salt Creek in Box Elder County is 
working on attracting  Burrowing Owls to these artificial nest sites.  
 
My brother Leonard is involved in a study of the Burrowing Owl on Eglin  AFB, 
Florida, located in the Florida Panhandle.  It was reported on in ABA  
Birding, Audubon Magazine and other birding publications.  There is an  excellent 
web site that discusses Burrowing Owls, as well as this project.   You can 
review it at _http://members.aol.com/pjbowen/owls.html_ 
(http://members.aol.com/pjbowen/owls.html) .  
 
One interesting trait of the Burrowing Owls on Eglin that  my brother 
reported on was its habit of decorating the entrance to its  burrow with shiny 
objects.  He told me that studying the Burrowing  Owls on Eglin is difficult, since 
their burrows on located on an active  bombing range.  Some of the shiny 
decorations used have been bomb  fragments.
 
Regards,
 
Bill  Fenimore
Utah Audubon  Policy Advocate
(801) 525-8400 Business
(801) 699-9330  Cellular



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