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California Burrowing Owl Consortium
California supports a declining population of resident and migratory western burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) that occur non-uniformly throughout the state. A state-wide census in 1991-1993 estimated that there are 9,266 pairs of burrowing owls in California. Seventy-one percent (6,570 pairs) of these occurred in the Imperial Valley which comprises less than 2% of the state and 24% (2,224 pairs) occurred in the Central Valley.
Burrowing owls have disappeared from significant portions of their range in the last 15 years and overall nearly 60% of the breeding groups of owls known to have existed during the 1980s had disappeared by the early 1990s. We describe important conservation issues in the four primary nesting areas of the state; the Imperial Valley, the Central Valley, the San Francisco Bay, and the southern California coast. Primary causes of population declines in California, as elsewhere, are human conversion of habitats and eradication of burrow-generating mammals. The California Burrowing Owl Consortium, formed in 1990, has contributed to increased conservation of this declining species.
Brian Walton, Janet Linthicum, and Lee Aulman are involved in burrowing owl research. SCPBRG has participated in two studies of wintering burrowing owls to determine population size, habitat use, and winter ecology of local populations in Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara Counties. SCPBRG is a member of the California Burrowing Owl Consortium and supports its actions.
Proceedings of the California Burrowing Owl Symposium, November 2003. Barclay, J.H., K.W. Hunting, J.L. Lincer, J. Linthicum, and T.A. Roberts, editors. vii + 197 pages. ISBN: 978-0-9800011-0-5.
View the table of contents (PDF)
Published as Bird Populations Monographs No. 1 by The Institute for Bird Populations and Albion Environmental, Inc. Price $20 U.S. (includes tax and shipping). Contains 20 papers about burrowing owl regional status, research, management, policy, and reference information (a bibliography on the burrowing owl in California) from the two-day California Burrowing Owl Symposium in Sacramento, CA in November 2003. To order visit Albion Environmental. Also can be ordered by calling (831) 469-9128 or email info@albionenvironmental.com.
We host this page as a courtesy to the California Burrowing Owl Consortium. If you have concerns about burrowing owls in your particular area, we suggest you contact your local Department of Fish and Game Office.
