How Squirrels Are Surprisingly Helping These Owls Thrive.mp4

See how the "ecosystem engineers" build the burrows that the owls live in.

Transcript

00:00So we relocated a group of burrowing owls from Otay Mesa to Rancho Homol Ecological Reserve

00:09in southern San Diego County. We moved this group of owls where they were going to be

00:14in the way of development and brought them to Rancho Homol Ecological Reserve as part

00:18of our larger conservation goals for burrowing owls in San Diego County.

00:22So starting in 2011, we received funding to look at methods for ground squirrel translocation

00:35because California ground squirrels are the animal that builds the burrows that the owls

00:39live in.

00:52We call them ecosystem engineers because the things they need to do to survive are

00:56really helpful to other animals like digging burrows. They have benefits for the soil, they

01:00have benefits for other species by making homes for them. So we really wanted to understand

01:05how to restore that system before we could even think about bringing owls into a place.

01:12We came out here and we installed artificial burrows that we could use to translocate the

01:16owls into.

01:18There's a burrow chamber in the ground that we have access to from above ground with tunnels

01:23leading up to the surface of the soil.

01:33When it comes time to let them go, we make sure that they're inside the burrow. Then we

01:37remove the plugs that we have in the burrows to keep the owls inside the burrows. And usually

01:42we have to wait quite a long time to have the owls come out. And today, right behind me,

01:46we had a pair that was very cooperative and came out and gave us a little show in front

01:50of the burrow and then went off to check out their new home. We're really excited to see

01:54what they do. All of the burrows that we have here currently have eggs in them, so we're really

01:58excited to see what they do over the next several months and hopefully years if they stick around.

02:02We're really excited to see what they do if they stick around.