Science Corner - Burrowing Owls

Kristie Ehrhardt • August 6, 2025

Do you remember the Haunted Forest in the Wizard of Oz? Most of us probably envision owls as those shadowy birds with the glowing eyes skulking at Dorothy and the gang from the dark tree canopy. True, most owls are nighttime creatures, and they do have large round eyes, but they certainly don’t glow like a red-hot cigarette lighter in a 1985 Oldsmobile. And yes, most species of common owls do roost in trees but, did you know that we have a very special little owl in our region that is active during the day as well as the night and nests and roots in underground burrows?! I realize that the name kind of gives it away but if you guessed Burrowing Owls, pat yourself on the back!

 

Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) are a small species of owl that belong to the family Strigidae, the same family that includes other owls in our region including Great-horned Owls, Screech Owls and the eared owls. The name Athene comes from the Greek goddess of wisdom and cunicularia translates from Latin to mean miner or burrower - quite literally meaning “wise burrower”.

 

Burrowing Owls are fairly social and although they usually only have one mate at a time, they tend to nest and live in loose colonies. Males and females look alike however males are often lighter in color from sun bleaching as they spend more time outdoors while the females remain underground with the young. Both sexes average between seven and 11 inches long with wingspans of about 20-24 inches. They weigh five to eight ounces with females weighing slightly more than males. Both males and females lack ear tufts and have a flattened facial disk with prominent white eyebrows. Their large eyes are bright yellow, and their beaks are dark yellow to gray. Their heads, backs and wings are sandy brown with white mottling, and their abdomens and chests are a buffy brownish-gray with white barring. Juveniles look similar but lack the white mottling or barring. If you ask me, one of their most endearing physical traits are their long legs. Burrowing Owls prefer open areas and their lengthy legs allow them to perch on the ground and still keep watch over their surroundings. When disturbed, or even if they think they might be disturbed, agitated owls will bob up and down while chirping and giving whatever they’re perceiving as a threat the death stare. If that isn’t enough to intimidate the presumed threat, the owl will simply fly off. Another fascinating behavior is Burrowing Owls’ love of decor. They will collect things they find interesting and decorate the entrance of their burrow. These items often include flower petals, shiny things such as bottle caps, bits of beetle exoskeleton, and small rocks. Sometimes Burrowing Owls will collect scat from larger animals which in turn attracts dung beetles that become a “door dash” snack delivery for the owls.

 

Being active during both the day and night hours helps the owls to secure different food sources; prey species include insects, amphibians and small lizards during the day and small mammals at night.

 

There are several subspecies of Burrowing owls but the genus as a whole has historically occurred from southwestern Canada, the western United States (minus the humid Pacific Northwest) into Mexico and east into Florida, in Central America, some Caribbean Islands and in most of South America. Most populations of Burrowing Owls do not migrate but those that occupy the northern end of their range may migrate seasonally to avoid the cold winter months (I would too!). Their habitat preferences include open or grazed areas with shorter vegetation such as dry pastures, prairies, open grasslands, savannas with an established burrowing mammal population to provide underground nesting locations for the owls. Burrowing Owls are extremely adaptable and have also occupied urban areas such as airports, golf courses, grassy areas in highway interchanges, parks, schools, parking lots and even landfills and other other relatively undisturbed urban and suburban areas. Most individuals do not excavate their own burrows but rather take over abandoned mammal burrows including those dug by ground squirrels, prairie dogs and badgers. Some populations and subspecies will dig their own burrows or enhance those made by other species if the soil is not rocky or compact. Burrowing Owls have been documented utilizing man-made burrows as well.

 

The subspecies found in our region is the Western Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea). Once widely disturbed across California, habitat loss as a result of urbanization, ground squirrel population decline, pesticide use, predation from coyotes, foxes, badgers, feral cats and changes in land use practices have resulted in drastic population declines since the 1980’s. Several attempts have been made to give the Western Burrowing Owl protection as a special-status species, however, as of yet it has not been afforded any official lasting protection.

 

If you’ve had the pleasure of observing burrowing owls you know exactly how charismatic they can be. If you haven’t seen them do keep your eyes open for them, you’ll be glad you did!


-Kristie Ehrhardt (kehrhardt@tuleyome.org)

Tuleyome Land Conservation Program Manager

RECENT ARTICLES

By Nate Lillge October 2, 2025
Tuleyome was excited to be back in the field at Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve. Volunteers installed a Chronolog station that will help monitor restoration efforts on the Blue Ridge Trail. This station - a post next to the trail that encourages hikers to take a photo - will help UC Reserve System document the changes at the site without large amounts of resources and time dedicated to monitoring. You can be a part of restoration efforts by taking a photo at the station. Thanks to our volunteers who joined us! Photos from the day are available on Flickr . Check out our website for more chances to help Tuleyome maintain trails! More information about Chronolog can be found on their website . There are currently two cameras at Stebbins - one monitoring big leaf maples and this one on the Blue Ridge Trail . Head to Stebbins and be a part of the restoration efforts!
By Geoff Benn October 2, 2025
Interns Diego, Ellen, and Rithika on the Rotary Pavilion at the Preserve Tuleyome is excited to welcome three new Horticultural Interns for Fall 2025! This is our second year offering this internship, where we pair college students with mentors at Woodland Regional Park Preserve to assist with projects including invasive plant removal, native plantings, and native species monitoring. This year’s cohort includes three UC Davis Environmental Science and Management majors – senior Diego Barraza and sophomores Ellen Jenkins and Rithika Warrier. They will be mentored by longtime Preserve volunteers Jennifer Hogan and Teri Barry. Over the course of the Fall Quarter, the interns will join volunteer crews for work days at the Preserve, providing opportunities for both skill development and networking. The Preserve, which opened to the public in May 2025, is a restored former landfill site that was developed into nature preserve to provide outdoor education opportunities and to protect the rare and endangered plants found on the site. The Preserve is a collaborative effort by the City of Woodland, Tuleyome, Yolo Habitat Conservancy, Rotary clubs, and other local organizations and volunteers. If you have any questions about the internship program or Tuleyome’s work at the Preserve, please contact Geoff Benn at gbenn@tuleyome.org.
By Bryan Pride October 2, 2025
Thank you to everyone who submitted comments on the proposed rescission of the Roadless Rule and the USDA reorganization. We've cycled through several comment periods over the recent months, including the current open comment period for the rescission of the Public Lands Rule . Your voices joined half a million people who participated in the Roadless Rule comment period with 99% of comments supporting protection of our forest by keeping them roadless. This level of engagement shows the administration that we the people are paying attention. But our work isn’t done. Even though we defeated Senator Lee’s amendment to sell off public lands in the Big Beautiful Bill, the administration is still pursuing that same goal through a more coordinated attack. The mass firing of federal employees, efforts to rescind the Roadless Rule , the Public Lands Rule , and the proposed reorganization of USDA create the conditions necessary for unprecedented extraction from and eventual sale of our public lands. What we're witnessing isn't a series of isolated policy changes, it's a coordinated strategy with the "Big Beautiful Bill" connecting each attack on our public lands. The Strategy The sale of public lands started with DOGE’s mass firing of thousands of experienced Forest Service rangers, BLM land managers, and National Park employees, dedicated public servants who had built expertise from boots-on-the-ground field work to policy development roles. The loss of these public servants also means the elimination of institutional knowledge of what sustainable land management looks like in practice. The administration then moved to make these cuts permanent by closing and selling federal office buildings. The Ukiah BLM office , which manages the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument was initially threatened with closure but was eventually removed from the list. Removing the land managers was only one part of the plan. The Big Beautiful Bill passed through Congress with devastating budgetary cuts and protocol mandates for public lands and national forests. The bill, now signed into law, mandates destructive logging quotas : 250 million board feet annually from National Forests and 20 million board feet from BLM lands, with annual quota increases through 2034. The bill also requires agencies to award 20-year logging contracts to private companies, locking in extraction commitments through 2046. Logging levels this high haven't been seen since the 1900s. While the Big Beautiful Bill is now law, agencies cannot implement these logging and extraction mandates unless existing protective regulations, the Roadless Rule and the Public Lands Rule, are rescinded. These rules prevent the Big Beautiful Bill’s quotas from being implemented, which strongly suggests why the administration is moving to eliminate them. The Roadless Rule has coexisted with national forest logging for 25 years. The Rule protects 58.5 million acres of sensitive forest by preventing new road construction in designated roadless areas, while allowing logging to continue in areas with existing roads. However, the mandatory extraction quotas in the Big Beautiful Bill require access to previously untouched, sensitive areas. Meeting these dramatically increased quotas means building roads through currently protected roadless areas. Rescinding the Roadless Rule is a prerequisite for implementing the Big Beautiful Bill’s mandates. The Public Lands Rule recognizes conservation as a legitimate form of multiple use alongside grazing, mining, logging and recreation. The Public Lands Rule hasn’t stopped these uses, it requires that these activities be managed sustainably to protect long-term land health. However, the mandatory extraction minimum in the Big Beautiful Bill prioritizes meeting quotas over sustainable management. Rescinding the Public Lands Rule removes the requirement to balance extraction with conservation, making it possible to prioritize extraction regardless of long-term impacts on public lands. The USDA reorganization completes the strategy by eliminating local expertise, moving California’s forest management out of state. With no local forester position to resist unsustainable quotas or provide expertise about our unique ecosystems, implementation of new extraction protocols becomes inevitable. The sequence reveals the coordination: eliminate the people who understand sustainable management, pass legislation mandating unprecedented extraction, then remove the regulatory barriers that would prevent implementation. Why This Matters Now The Big Beautiful Bill's extraction mandates are already law, but they cannot be implemented while protective rules remain in place. These rules alone make it nearly impossible for the administration to enforce the newly set and unprecedented logging quotas. The protective rules that would prevent devastating extraction practices are under attack. Without these regulatory protections, the already-passed mandates will transform our public lands in ways that may be irreversible. Help speak for our public lands and take action to protect conservation by signing on to Tuleyome’s petition opposing the rescission of the Public Lands Rule, and/or submit comments directly on the Federal Register , you have until November 10th. For more information on how to participate in the public comment process or other advocacy opportunities, contact Bryan Pride Breaking News: Federal Government Shutdown The federal government shut down at 12:01 AM on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. National Parks and public lands will remain open to the public, though each location will vary in the number of staff present. USFS and BLM will have reduced staff at both field offices and regional offices. Some staff will be furloughed, while others may be working without pay. Offices such as the Bureau of Reclamation have the ability to run and operate Lake Berryessa activities for at least two weeks due to their access to discretionary funds, this is not a reality for all agencies. It is fire season. The Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture both released contingency plans for the lapse in federal funding. Both plans state that personnel directly related to wildfire response will largely be exempt from furloughs. The DOI's plan said National Park Service employees involved in fire suppression or fire monitoring activities will not be furloughed. USDA's plan said that employees who respond to and prepare for wildland fires will not be furloughed. Furloughs will still affect employees who are red-carded, or have wildland fire incident qualifications, but whose wildfire duties are secondary to their primary duties . During the government shutdown, some services may not be available or will be delayed. With reduced ranger presence on public lands, take extra precautions: don't hike alone, let someone know your plans, and be sure to pack out what you pack in.