Juvenile burrowing owls now on the hunt for food

Motorists are encouraged to keep their eyes open for juvenile burrowing owls, which have begun to leave their nests in search of food.

For the past several weeks, the parents of juvenile owls have been tending and feeding them. Now they are independent and ready to learn how to fly and hunt for themselves, explained Kaytlyn Burrows, habitat stewardship co-ordinator with Nature Saskatchewan. Late July and August are when the owls are out or perched on fence posts. However, it is also a dangerous time for the birds. Burrowing owls can be identified by their mottled brown and white feathers, their stilt-like legs, and their bright yellow eyes. The birds are about the size of a robin, with a height of about 23 centimetres (nine inches), but they have large wings compared to the rest of their small body. They are commonly found in native or tame grasslands and will use the burrows of badgers, ground squirrels, and other burrowing mammals for nesting.

This is a critical time in the owls’ lifecycle since they are a bit like teenagers, Burrows continued. They have hatched, are growing up and are learning to fend for themselves. They are keen to be independent, but are inexperienced and a little clumsy. The owls tend to forage for food on the roads and in the ditches.

“At dusk the (gravel) road surface tends to be warmer than surrounding grasslands, attracting many small insects and rodents and as a result, young owls are also attracted and they begin searching for prey,” said Burrows. For this reason, the juveniles are at a greater risk of collision with vehicles, which contributes to the decline in their numbers. Motorists can prevent collisions by reducing their speed and watching for burrowing owls on or near the road.

If motorists should hit a burrowing owl, they should call Nature Saskatchewan at 1-306-780-9273 or the Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre in Moose Jaw at 1-306-692-8710. If the bird is injured, Burrows explained, it might be possible to rehabilitate the bird. However, if motorists accidentally kill an owl, the Royal Saskatchewan Museum is willing to take the carcass and use it for research.

The juvenile burrowing owls will gain experience through time, said Burrows. They start migrating at the end of September to southern Texas and Mexico, at which point they are better at flying and hunting.

“If they can make it to that point, they have a much better chance of survival,” she continued. They will migrate back north at the end of March.

Nature Saskatchewan is unsure how many burrowing owls — which are listed on a federal endangered species list — live in Canada. Burrows noted that as of 2015, there were thought to be 270 owls across the country, with about 100 of those birds in Saskatchewan alone. “I think it has to do with their preferred habitat,” she said. Besides living underground, they also forage in flat or rolling topography. Most of their main nesting grounds are in southwest Saskatchewan, since that is the most suitable terrain for them.

If anyone sees a burrowing owl, you should call the Hoot line at 1-800-667-HOOT (4668). Or, visit Nature Saskatchewan at www.naturesask.ca/home.