Endangered (MN); Threatened (CO and FL); Species of Concern (CA, MT, OK, OR, UT, WA, and WY)

(fws.gov)

Migratory Bird Treaty Act

(fws.gov)

Construction, agricultural development, and burrowing mammals often push the owls out of their habitats or create fragmentation and isolation. Pesticides, vehicle collisions, electric fences, shooting, and collisions with wind turbines are all man-made threats to these owls. Drought, fires, and flooding also pose potential threats (fws.gov).

Burrowing owls have an extensive range across the United States but have most prevalence in the southwestern United States including California, Arizona, and Oregon (fws.gov).

Burrowing Owl Survey Protocol (ca.gov)

Florida Threatened Burrowing Owl Minimum Qualifications (myfwc.com)

They live in wide-open areas that consist of sparse vegetation such as deserts, grasslands, prairies, and agricultural fields. Development oftentimes pushes them out of these areas, and they have no choice but to nest along roads or airports with open areas. Northern populations of burrowing owls go south (Mexico and Central America) for the winter and return north in the spring. These owls are opportunistic predators and will eat almost anything they physically can, but primarily consume insects and small mammals depending on what is most available during the time of year. For reproduction, breeding occurs from February to August and nests are built in underground burrows. Courtship involves flash coloration display and cooing sounds. Males will feed the females and they will groom each other’s feathers. Females lay a clutch of 2-12 eggs, and they are incubated for 28-30 days. Males will help feed the female during this time and guard the nest. Juveniles will leave the nest after about 6 weeks from hatching. Burrowing owls have an average lifespan of 6-8 years (fws.gov).

Pesticides are known to cause issues with reproduction for burrowing owls, but looking at the potential issue of how it may also affect availability of food resources could be informative. Comparing rodent numbers in areas that use pesticides vs. those that do not may give an idea of how much decline in their food can be expected. This research can then be used to come up with further conservation methods.

Burrowing Owl Mitigation Guidelines (ca.gov)

Conservation Management Plan for Burrowing Owls and Artificial Nesting Burrows (audubon.org)

Burrowing owls are small with long legs and a short tail. They have a rounded head, but they do not have ear tufts like some other owl species. Untraditionally, these owls are the same size between both males and females. Their height ranges from 7.5-9.8 inches with a wingspan of roughly 20-24 inches. In proportion to their bodies, the wings are relatively long and have a round shape. The tail, however, is short. Their back has a mottled brown with white spots pattern. The underside is the reverse, with a pale color and brown spots. The belly has dark brown bars and the undertail is white. Their throat and eyebrows are white, the break is tan, and the eyes are bright yellow. Juveniles look similar but have less mottling and no streaks. Similar owls include the short-eared owl, northern saw-whet owl, and northern pygmy owl, but the burrowing owl is distinctive by its uniquely long legs (fws.gov).

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (fws.gov)