Give a Hoot about Burrowing Owls

After a long winter, many birds are slowing migrating back to their summer nesting grounds.

The Burrowing Owl is one of those birds returning to Saskatchewan after spending the winter in Texas and Mexico, and Nature Saskatchewan is looking for your help if you see the endangered birds.  

"We ask that the public or any rural land owners will call in any sighting that they do see and that information is used in population monitoring for the burrowing owl," says Kaytlyn Burrows the Habitat Stewardship Coordinator for Nature Saskatchewan.

Those land owners will also be contacted to participate in Operation Burrowing Owl that is a stewardship program that they have been running since 1987.   

"It is important for us to get the word out there about the burrowing owls so that people can report them to us," said Burrows.  "We can then get a better idea of where their population numbers do stand, with the majority of the owls being in Southern Saskatchewan and Alberta. They are a little bit larger than an American robin, something characteristic about them is they have the long featherless legs, look like they are standing on stilts, they got those big yellow eyes and they look like they have got big white bushy eyebrows."

If you spot a burrowing owl, the best way to get a hold of someone is to contact Nature Saskatchewan through their "Hoot Line" at 1-800-667-HOOT.  

Burrows also wants people to be assured that any information shared about the location of a burrowing owl is kept confidential.