Owls Hold the Power at Tower : Wildlife: Bird and two chicks nesting in a light standard at college stadium prompt officials to hold off on renovation project.

Stadium maintenance workers at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut recently ran into a feisty trio of off-season spectators--a great horned owl and her two chicks.

But the protective mother owl is no cuddly stadium mascot. She frightened off workers who came near her nest in a light tower, and has forced a delay in a stadium lighting project.

“As we went up the pole, this giant owl came swooping down on us,” said Bill Eastham, manager of the community college’s Venerable Memorial Stadium. “She was really upset that we were up there, so we quickly came down.”

Before the birds were discovered last week, stadium workers were trying to replace the lights in all eight stadium towers in time for a major track and field competition that began Thursday and continues through Sunday.

The close encounter with the owls persuaded officials to delay replacing lights in the nesting tower for six weeks, giving the chicks time to mature.

“We like to protect what little wildlife that we have left,” Eastham said. “Besides, this is a big owl and very protective of her chicks. . . . I personally wouldn’t want to mess around with her.”

The contractors, however, are not too happy with the owls’ choice of residence.

“It’s going to cost a whole bunch for me to stop the project and restart it again in a few weeks,” said Curtis Martin, foreman for Electrical Systems Engineering. “I have never dealt with anything like this before. . . . It’s amazing how three owls can hold back such a big project.”

Martin estimated that delaying the project will cost him about $1,500, including rental fees for a dumpster, truck and other equipment. But he said he can understand the school’s decision not to disturb the owls.

“I wish we could go up there and talk the owls into moving somewhere else, but from what I hear the mother is not too friendly,” Martin said.

Dave Davin, the school’s director of business services, said the contractor hasn’t discussed any owl-related extra costs with college officials. But Davin said the school is determined to allow the birds to nest in peace.

“We figure that in a few weeks, the chicks will be old enough to fly, and once they leave, the mother will too,” Davin said.

The gray-and-brown great horned owl, whose wingspan can measure up to four feet, is one of the largest owls native to this area, said Craig Petersen, director of the school’s Wildlife Sanctuary. The birds are carnivorous, dining mainly on mice, rats and insects. They are named because of their head feathers, which resemble horns.

Petersen said the owls’ presence does not surprise him.

“There has been a lot of development in the area lately, but we’re still pretty rural,” Petersen said. “At times we still get animals walking through campus. We even had a skunk walk through graduation once.”