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Burrowing owls: Giving a hoot about their fate

A juvenile burrowing owl comes in for a landing near the ground squirrel burrow that the owls have taken over at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.

A juvenile burrowing owl comes in for a landing near the ground squirrel burrow that the owls have taken over at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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There are just four breeding pairs of burrowing owls left along the Southern California coastline between Encinitas and Santa Barbara, and all of them nest at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station in Orange County. The Navy faces a delicate balancing act with the owls, which are listed as a “species of special concern” by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife -- a designation that provides modest protections assigned to animals deemed at risk but not threatened or endangered.
Read more: Navy steps up efforts to protect burrowing owls at weapons base

Two neighbors

A molting adult burrowing owl stands near the commandeered ground squirrel burrow. The situation with the owls underlines the difficulty facing wildlife biologists in ensuring the survival of borderline species clinging to existence in Southern California’s patchwork of isolated habitats surrounded by urban development.   (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Who goes there? Baby owls

Navy biologist Bob Schallmann watches some recently hatched burrowing owls at the weapons station. Next to him is biologist Peter Bloom, who has been monitoring the base’s avian life for 35 years. “If the burrowing owl were to become an endangered species, the new protections that would have to be implemented might hamper the operations conducted here,” Schallmann said.   (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Coexisting species

Young burrowing owls stand near the burrow they took over from ground squirrels. The fledgling owls were discovered two weeks ago by Navy biologist Bob Schallmann, who hopes they pave the way for the bird that scientists know as Athene cunicularia to reestablish residency in a place where dozens of breeding pairs were recorded in the late 1960s.   (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Cricket on the menu

A baby burrowing owl dines on a cricket. The owls were among the state’s most common birds in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Their numbers have been dropping steadily since the 1940s because of habitat loss through urban development, elimination of rodents they feed on, pesticides, predation by domestic animals, vehicle strikes, collisions with wind turbines and shooting, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.   (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

Getting a good look

Biologist Peter Bloom focuses on the owls’ burrow. “This base is the ultimate example of fragmented habitat,” he said. “The next nearest burrowing owl nests along the coast are 70 miles to the south and 90 miles to the northeast. These birds can’t find each other anymore.”   (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

A wise little sentinel

A young burrowing owl on guard. An alarming decline in the numbers of breeding burrowing owls in Imperial County -- an area with the largest population of the owls in the state -- has prompted calls for an immediate inquiry by state wildlife authorities.   (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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