Bird fest talks burrowing owls

Article Date: 2010-02-12   Source: http://www.ivpressonline.com   Comments: 0

By David Steffen

Imperial Valley, California, U.S.A. - Since the Imperial Valley is home to about 70 percent of California's burrowing owl population, it was one of the stars at the Salton Sea International Bird Festival on Thursday.

The burrowing owl, as its name suggests, lives in burrows it digs in the ground. Marie Barrett, of Barrett's Biological Surveys in El Centro, said burrowing owls help the Valley's ecosystem. She also said the owl's looks make it an attractive creature to study.

''He's the cutest critter,'' she said. ''He's an integral part of the Imperial Valley environment. They eat insects and rodents, so they help clean up our environment for us.''

Barrett said she works to cordon off burrowing owl nests at construction sites, which is also called sheltering and placing, or to relocate them to new homes, if necessary. She spoke about the burrowing owl during a lecture at the bird festival at Imperial Valley College.

''We try to shelter and place, but if we can't, we will passively relocate them and build new homes for them,'' she said.

Bruce Wilcox, Imperial Irrigation District environmental manager for water transfers, said IID also tries to protect the owl, especially during drain maintenance. The owls tend to dwell there.

''It's probably the largest project for us,'' he said about the environmental department's burrowing owl efforts.

Barrett said it is important to protect the burrowing owl not only for nature's sake, but for people's sake. She said if the burrowing owl appears on the endangered species list, it could make construction and agriculture very difficult in the Valley.

''If we don't protect them, we're going to be listed as an endangered species, and that would make any activity very difficult,'' she said.

However, she said the burrowing owl population seems to be healthy in the Valley.

''In the Imperial Valley, it seems to be doing well,'' she said.

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