2005 Wild At Heart Burrowing Owl relocations to elevations above 3000 feet.
In cooperation with Arizona Game and Fish Research Branch, Wild At Heart has begun relocation of Buirrowing Owls to grassland areas in higher elevations. The "desert" owls were originally removed from new developments near Phoenix. After the normal 60-day period in the care facility in Cave Creek, the owls were transported to new artificial burrow release sites near Cochise, Kingman, Prescott Valley, and the Arizona Strip just south of St. George, Utah. The map shows where the owls came from, see the yellow-colored area on the map. With these relocations it will be possible to begin to assess how readily Burrowing Owls can adapt to changes in elevation from the Phoenix area (around 1100 feet) to grassland habitats in the range of 3000-4500 feet. All of the relocation areas have Burrowing Owls nearby, in the case of Prescott Valley the local owls moved into the newly-placed expansion burrows within 2 weeks. In the other areas the local owls are probably miles away from the release sites. The map shows location data about Burrowing Owls discovered during the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas project. The relocation sites were chosen using Atlas data as a guide for habitat suitability at the new sites.
A total of 33 owls were relocated around April 1, 2005 to give them the best chance for breeding success in May when the tents were removed and the owls were on their own. Follow the links for details about each site.
Remember, Wild At Heart could not do these kinds of projects without your financial support. Also, Please contact Wild At Heart if you would like to volunteer to help with rescue, transport, or facility activities. They can be reached at:
480-595-5047
For more information about this project, and to find out if your property could be used as a release site, use your email to contact:
b i r d i n f o @ m i r r o r - p o l e . c o m.
You will need to type it in manually and eliminate the spaces.
Copyright Greg Clark, 2005