Banding Together for Burrowing Owls 

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While the Great Salt Lake Basin’s growing human population is feeling the effects of a housing shortage, Audubon hopes that Burrowing Owls might enjoy some newly constructed, luxury burrows on prime lakefront property. Rent free, of course.  

Audubon’s Edward L. & Charles F. Gillmor Sanctuary sits on the southeastern shore of Great Salt Lake, providing vital habitat for vast numbers of shorebirds, waterfowl, and other migratory birds, including Burrowing Owls.   

Gillmor staff know of four burrows currently occupied by owls on the sanctuary. The burrows in use were previously dug by badgers and coyotes. Pairs of Burrowing Owls have been spotted at the entrances, but only time will tell whether egg-filled nests are inside.   

When it comes to their homes, Burrowing Owls are opportunistic and utilize existing holes and burrows left behind by other mammals. These short-term tenants are renters, not homeowners, as the majority of the Utah Burrowing Owl population migrates south toward their wintering grounds in the fall.   

While the staff is excited about this year’s tenants, surveys indicate a decline in the breeding population at the sanctuary.   

Declining numbers across the Burrowing Owls’ range has been attributed to habitat loss and declines in the burrowing mammals that dig the burrows the owls depend on for nesting. Motivated by the current presence of Burrowing Owls, Gillmor’s team is working to find ways to support and encourage new nesting at the sanctuary.  

Audubon’s Saline Lakes Program is also based out of Salt Lake City and focused on Great Salt Lake’s bird populations. Despite sharing an office, Audubon’s Saline Lakes team and Gillmor Sanctuay’s staff rarely get to be out in the field together, outside of occasional monitoring and surveys. With spring migration underway, and temperatures not quite warm enough for biting bugs, it was the prime time for the two teams to band together and spend a day at the sanctuary building new homes for the owls.

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Zach Higgins, senior coordinator of land management at Gillmor, constructed two artificial nest chambers using two halves of a 55-gallon drum, each flipped upside down with ten feet of drain line attached. The chambers are meant to mimic a natural nesting habitat for Burrowing Owls.   

While they’re opportunistic, that doesn’t mean the owls aren’t picky. Like any renter, these burrowing birds have a list of must-haves they’re looking for when it comes to choosing a home:  

• Unobstructed views   
  A clear and open line of sight, 360 degrees around the burrow not only provides luxury views, but also the critical ability to detect approaching predators.   

• A 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom, at least  
  Not fans of eating where they sleep, burrowing owls prefer two or more burrows adjacent to each other, leaving plenty of room for nesting, eating, and cold storage for their prey. They will typically lay eggs in one burrow and cache prey in another close by.  

• Nearby dining options   
  Plentiful sources of food, like rodents and insects, are essential when choosing their new spot.  

Keeping this list in mind, Gillmor’s staff scouted the perfect location at the sanctuary to install the nest chambers: the top of a slight embankment with short grass and no trees or tall bushes in sight.   

With the right location and the artificial burrows built, there was only one thing left to do: start digging.   

The teams had to dig deep enough to fully submerge the drums, as well as the attached drain line that will serve as a tunnel into the burrow.  

Once the holes were deep enough, mesh wire was laid down and covered at the bottom of the hole to help protect against nest predators digging into the nesting chamber from underneath. The next step was to place the drums in the ground and ensure their proper depth before burying them once more. The final step involved pushing a long, make-shift plunger into the drain line to create an even layer of dirt in the tunnel, ensuring the owl’s feet won’t fall into the divots of the corrugated tubing.   

While this is a pilot program, the hope is that installing these artificial burrows will help the local Burrowing Owl population by providing more nesting habitat. 

Similar efforts have been successful at the neighboring Antelope Island on Great Salt Lake, where Hawk Watch International manages a suite of burrows with a similar design. Artificial burrows were installed after the introduction of bison, who collapsed many natural burrows around the island by stepping on them. These artificial burrows are reinforced to prevent trampling by large mammals, like the bison, and are regularly maintained to ensure they are ready for nesting owls. A very high percentage of the artificial burrows at Antelope Island are utilized by Burrowing Owls, a positive sign for the team’s efforts at Gillmor Sanctuary.    

While it’s a little late in the season, migratory owls can still be arriving and looking for burrows, meaning there could be new tenants before summer if they’re lucky enough to stumble on the burrows. The hope is for last year’s hatchlings to move in and be on the hunt for a space to call their own this year. If none move in this season, Gillmor’s staff hopes for residents in the next year, as it can take time for local populations to find the new burrows, and many might be returning to burrows they’ve used in the past.  

In the meantime, the team will monitor the burrows, as the design enables staff to check inside through the top of the drum which allows for maintenance checks. Gillmor staff hope to install live stream cameras once owls take up residence in the burrows.   

Stay tuned to see if the Gillmor and Saline Lakes team might just be the newest and most popular homebuilders for Burrowing Owls at Great Salt Lake. We’ll let the future tenants be the judge. 

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