Widget's Tidbits(2): On Burrowing Owls

Widget here again! It's been a while since I wrote my introduction and I thought it was time to check in with you again. Today I've got some nifty information for you about some of my friends.   These friends are bigger than me, though not quite as big as some of my other friends, but size doesn't matter. I love these guys and they're pretty awesome birds if you ask me.   So what are these friends of mine? They're Burrowing Owls. Most of us live up in the treetops, but these guys live in the ground. They are born and raised underground and live their entire lives out of little burrows. They typically build their homes in dens that have been vacated by other animals or existing spaces in the earth, including cracks under sidewalks or canal berms.   The burrowing owls aren't that much bigger than me. I stand a little over 4 inches tall, and burrowing owls only get to be about 11 inches tall. So maybe they're actually a lot bigger than me, but it's a manageable difference.   Burrowing Owls were featured in the 2006 film Hoot. The movie is about a boy who moves with his family and discovers a population of burrowing owls. He then makes it his mission to protect the threatened owls and keep them safe in their habitat. You should check it out! If you get a chance take a look at the Special Features, you'll see the artificial habitats created by Wild At Heart and a few of the owls. We're famous!  

  I've been making a number of new friends here at Wild At Heart, in the last few days. You see, a few hours away from Wild At Heart is a town called Yuma. Right now there's a lot of construction going on in Yuma and it's putting my friends in danger. How? Their homes are smack dab in the middle of where the human giants want to expand their hospital. There's no arguing with the human giants so my friends have to move.  

  Bob (one of the big people who runs my home) has been spending a lot of time down in Yuma helping to relocate my Burrowing Owl friends. Bob brought back 22 new friends from Yuma who will be staying the winter with us here at Wild At Heart. It takes a minimum of 60 days for my friends to break their bond with the old home.  Winter will be just around the corner by that time and all of our friends out in the wild will be migrating to Mexico. Most of my new friends are too young to make that journey right now.  They will get to stay and hang out here at Wild At Heart until spring. When spring and our wild friends return to Arizona, they will be released into the artificial habitats that have been built around the state (over 6000 burrows so far - Yippee!).   

  This isn't the first time Bob has been asked to help out with this species of owls. Earlier this year there was a pair of burrowing owls found on the site of the new performing arts center at Estrella Mountain Community College, and he was contacted to help relocate them. The college didn't want to lose their owls so they built new habitats for them right on the college campus. It was such a big deal, and Bob was so awesome, that they even wrote an article about the experience! You can read the article here.  

  I think it's pretty cool that Bob is willing to help (and didn't let our few minutes of fame go to his head) even when it means he has to drive long distances. It says a lot about how much his work at Wild At Heart means to him. And I can tell you from personal experience that his dedication really means a lot to those of us who call this place our home.   Anyways, back to the burrowing owls. Bob is continuing to help down in Yuma, bringing back new friends and making sure that all of the owls are relocated before the construction begins. He won't rest until he is certain they are all safe! This year we had a family of baby burrowing owls come in. They were orphaned, after their mom got hit by a car, and brought to Wild At Heart to have a chance at life.  

 

Wild At Heart is looking forward to the successful relocation and release of these burrowing owls into artificial habitats that have been constructed specifically for these small, special birds. They have had success in the past, especially with an owl named Lorcan. Lorcan came to Wild At Heart from South Dakota. He wasn't in good shape when he was found, but the people at Wild At Heart were able to get him back on track and looking good as new! After being transported to Wild At Heart last November, Lorcan spent four months here before he was released into his new home.

 

 

If you'd like to read more about Lorcan, you can check out his Photo Album on Facebook.

Also, if you'd like to learn more about the relocation of the burrowing owls in Yuma, you can read this article from the Yuma Sun.

For more information about the burrowing owls project at Wild At Heart, click here.

 

Thanks for stopping in to read about my friends here! Check back soon for more of Widget's Tidbits, where everything is coming to you straight from the beak!

 

Widget's Tidbits [1]

Hi guys! Widget here!

I'm the little Elf Owl that's been supervising the humans over at Wild At Heart! Maybe you don't think that's very special, but I sure do.

You see, this place is helping me. So I'm writing this blog as a way to help them. Basically, I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the awesome people here who decided my life was worth saving and protecting here in Arizona. You've heard the saying "I owe you my life"? Well, I really do owe my life to these giants who took me in. I was only about ten days old when I was brought to Wild At Heart, and my eyes weren't even open yet. Can you imagine being moved

Wild At Heart is a rescue and rehabilitation facility for a variety of raptor birds in Arizona. They take in different raptors, help them grow and learn to live in the wild and then release them when they are good and ready. No bird is released too soon, unable to fend for themselves, and no bird is kept too long, learning to depend on humans for food and survival. Their goal is to get the birds healthy and teach them how to survive on their own.

Now let's talk about me, Widget. Like I said before, I'm an Elf Owl. What does that mean? Well, it means I'm really small. We're talking 4.5 inches tall, and I only weigh 1.75 ounces. Small, right? You could almost stick me in an envelope and pop me in the mail! Sometimes it's hard to hang around with the bigger raptors, but I think I hold my own pretty well. And I must be doing something right to be allowed on the computer.

The giants who work here are great! Most humans get all squirmy when they see what I eat, but not these guys. They'll pick at worms and crickets all day just for me! Well, not just for me, but you know what I mean. Some of them are really brave, too, and they chop up the frozen mice and rats for my bigger friends to eat.

You see, Wild At Heart has many different kinds of raptors. This place is home to owls, hawks and falcons, all native to Arizona. These birds are brought in from all over the area. People find my friends on the side of the road and bring them in, and others are found injured in backyards. A few of my little friends were too young to fly before they were brought in. We have to keep a close eye on them to make sure they develop alright and that they will be safe when they are released into the wild.

As of right now, Wild At Heart is home to 327 raptors. And, from time to time, we have other birds pass through to claim temporary asylum from the craziness of the big world we live in. All of our friends are native to the area and I can't blame them if they just need a break for a little while. Don't we all just need a break sometimes?

Check back soon for more updates from Wild At Heart here on Widget's Tidbits- where everything is Straight From the Beak!