BURROWING OWL - Athene cunicularia
STATUS - ENDANGERED (Canada)
FAST FACTS
HABITAT: Prairie Grassland
MIGRATION: Flies as far south as Texas and northern Mexico
STATUS: Endangered (Canada) SARA & COSEWIC
- First species to be designated at threatened in Canada - 1979
- Declined to endangered in 1995
- Extirpated in BC and Manitoba
- Fewer than 1000 pairs in Alberta & Saskatchewan
MAJOR THREATS
- Habitat loss
- Fragmentation
- Pesticides
What you lookin' at?
What's for lunch?
Baby burrowing owls
HABITAT LOSS
CRITICAL HABITAT - OPEN GRASSLAND Burrowing owls live in open grassland areas in western North America. In Canada they are currently restricted to the southern areas of Saskatchewan and Alberta. The are very well adapted to an environment dominated by grazing animals, burrowing animals, and an open, treeless habitat. However, since the early 1900's, much of the western Canadian prairie has been cultivated for agriculture, especially in Saskatchewan. Agricultural crops don't provide the habitat that burrowing owls require, so the owls are restricted to the small fragments of prairie that remain as cattle pastures.
CRITICAL HABITAT - BURROWS Burrowing owls also need burrows to nest in. Since they don't dig their own burrows, they must rely on animals like prairie dogs, badgers, and gophers to dig holes for them. Unfortunately, these animals are often seen as pests and are killed -- sometimes with poisons that could just as easily kill the owls.
OPEN GRASSLAND
PRAIRIE DOG
Excuse me...may I please use your burrow?
NORTH AMERICAN RANGE
PESTICIDES
Spraying for grasshoppers with chemicals like Furadan 480F (Carbofuran)
- significantly reduces breeding success
- decreases the availability of prey
- reduces the number of burrowing animals
How owls can intake pesticides:
- spraying over the burrows kills owls and causes birth defects
- granules of the pesticide are mistaken as food - can be ingested while preening their feathers
- owls consume contaminated grasshoppers
WHAT IS BEING DONE?
- In Saskatchewan private landowners participate in Operation Burrowing Owl, and are conserving over 148,000 acres of grassland habitat in pastures and other lands while using their land as they always have. Landowners annually report the number of owls on their land.
- OBO provides financial support for habitat enhancement activities including seeding native pasture.
- GRASSLANDS NATIONAL PARK provides protection of habitat for the Burrowing Owl.
EDUCATION
- The Saskatchewan Burrowing Interpretive Centre was created to help promote the conservation of the owls and their prairie habitat through education, stewardship, and eco-tourism.
- It is open to the public and is located on the Moose Jaw Exhibition Grounds
RECOVERY STRATEGY
- A detailed recovery strategy for the burrowing owl has been developed as part of the SARA registry. Click the link below to learn more about it.
TRACKING MIGRATION
- A new study is using satellite transmitters to track migration to get a better understanding of patterns.
SOURCES
Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre
Grasslands National Park - Endangered Species
Operation Burrowing Owl
Hinterland Who's Who