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The burrowing owl isn’t your average owl: it doesn’t live in trees, and it’s not nocturnal. No, the burrowing owl makes its nest underground — usually in rodent burrows abandoned by other animals — and it’s up and about both day and night. But the charismatic western burrowing owl isn’t just special; it’s also increasingly rare. California’s population explosion has reduced the western burrower’s breeding populations by more than 60 percent… and they’re still in decline.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE
PROTECTION STATUS: Not listed
PETITIONED: No federal petition; petitioned in 2003 under California Endangered Species Act
RANGE: From the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, north into Canada and south to Mexico and western Panama; in California, found throughout the Central Valley and in the northeastern and southern portions of the state
THREATS: Habitat loss and fragmentation from urban development, elimination of burrowing rodents, intensive agriculture, destruction of burrows, pesticides, predation by nonnative species, vehicle strikes, electric fences, collisions with wind turbines, and shooting
POPULATION TREND: Surveys in the mid-1990s showed that an estimated 9,450 owl nesting pairs remained in the primary range of California burrowing owls. The number of breeding owl colonies located in the survey area declined by nearly 60 percent from the 1980s to the early 1990s, and the statewide number of owls is currently thought to be declining at about 8 percent per year due to urban development. Breeding burrowing owls have been extirpated from almost one-quarter of their former geographic range in California over the past two decades.
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SAVING THE WESTERN BURROWING OWL
Early accounts of the western burrowing owl in California described it as one of the most common birds in the state. In the late 1860s, according to one ornithologist, “burrowing owls stood on every little knoll” around San Diego. Even as late as 1975, this owl was described as “bordering on ubiquitous” in suitable habitat in southern California, and it was considered a regular inhabitant of the coastal grassland environment. But by 2003, urban development had nearly eliminated breeding owls from all of the California coast.
Following 14 years of unsuccessful efforts by the California Burrowing Owl Consortium to protect rapidly declining burrowing owl populations in urbanizing areas, the Center and other conservation organizations petitioned in 2003 to list the California population of the western burrowing owl as endangered or threatened under the California Endangered Species Act. The petition documented that breeding owls were eliminated from almost one-quarter of their former range in California, continue to decline in an additional quarter of their range, and are extremely sparsely distributed over an additional 43 percent.
But the state declared that, although burrowing owls had clearly declined in some parts of their California range, “sufficient data was lacking” in other parts of the state to indicate a decline. It refused to list the owl, based largely on an inaccurate, inconsistent report by the California Department of Fish and Game; documents later obtained by environmental groups revealed that Fish and Game had in fact suppressed an agency report recommending that the owl be considered for endangered or threatened status.
Despite this setback, the Center will continue to advocate for protection of the western burrowing owl. The Institute for Bird Populations is currently conducting a follow-up statewide survey to determine if owl populations are still declining. We’re working to protect the rich biodiversity of California as a whole through our Golden State Biodiversity Initiative, and our efforts to combat destructive urban sprawl throughout the Southwest and California will help preserve burrowing owl habitat.
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Contact: Jeff Miller
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