sQutdoors

TheReview

Wednesday, April 11,1990 — A9

See. TE

‘Cute burrowing owl was in dang

The little burrowing owl, some-
times called Billy owl or ground
owl, has only recently been rein-
troduced successfully to our prov-
ince in the dry, somewhat prairie-
like, grasslands region of Osoyoos.

It had become extinct within our

@ borders and its numbers have seri-
ously declined in many other
regions of North America in
which it had long been an integral
part of the environment.

Prior to the practices of massive
cultivation of marginal lands and

_ the wide use of such very toxic

f sprays as carbofuran across the
prairies of western Canada, bur-
rowing owls were numerous, espe-
cially in those areas with untold
numbers of abandoned burrows of
the once thriving prairie dog.

So, like the diminutive swift fox

ay which has become extinct in
Manitoba, Saskatchewan and
Alberta, the burrowing ow! is fall-
ing victim to agricultural practices,
the encroachment of civilization
and associated loss of habitat.

Other prairie species such as
whooping cranes, prairie bison,
pinnated grouse and black-footed
ferret have suffered similarly.

While burrowing owls have
often been seen repairing and
cleaning the dens in which they
lay their large clutches of eggs,
they do not burrow as the name
suggests.

Instead, they make use of the
abandoned dens of prairie dogs,

ew" Ensuring a

AF? Safer B.C.

ground squirrels, badgers, ground-
hogs and skunks in which to nest
and rear their broods.

The same nesting cavities may
be used year after year, but in each
successive season it is lined again
with fragments of horse droppings
or dried chips of cow dung. Here
the half-dozen to dozen eggs are
laid and incubated by the female.

Burrowing owls are easily rec-
ognized by their long legs and
short tails which are very evident
as they perch upon fence posts,
mounds or rocks on the lookout
for prey.

They bob the body in much the
manner of a spotted sandpiper or
water ouzel, raise and lower the
head and snap the beak as though
addressing an audience, turn it

Continued on Page A10

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