October 6, 2023 • 34 mins
Amazing Wildlife focuses on the Southwest Conservation Hub to take a closer look at the burrowing owl, found in San Diego County—one of the most biologically diverse counties in the United States. Marco attempts to mimic the sound of this unique bird that is about the size of a stick of butter! Rick and Marco chat with Colleen Wisinski, conservation program manager of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s burrowing owl recovery program, who shares how these active-in-daylight owls differ from nocturnal owls, and how they confuse potential predators. Colleen details her work with western burrowing owls, as we find out how they got their name and the importance of burrows. Finally, we get the inside scoop on the Wildwatch Burrowing Owl program, which is a way you can get involved in helping these birds!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hi, I'm Rick Schwartz, buenel zs World. I'm Marco went.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Welcome to Amazing Wildlife, where we explore unique stories of
wildlife from around the world and uncovered fascinating animal facts.
This podcast is a production of iHeartRadio's Ruby Studios and
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance in international nonprofit conservation organization,
which oversees the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park Hey Ray.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Since recovering our Southwest conservation hub this episode, I was
thinking we could focus on some wildlife thing we found
right here in San Diego County.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I like that idea, Marco. But to be fair, you know,
San Diego County is considered one of the most biologically
diverse counties in the United States, Right, so I think
you're gonna need to narrow it down a little bit.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I think you're right. And there's that word diversity again.
I love that word.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
But with our beatches right our inland coastal areas, our deserts,
and even our mountains, I mean, we have all sorts
of different ecosystems right here.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Right.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yeah, here's a fun fact for some of our listeners
that they may not know. But San Diego County is
considered to be the southern range limit for many northern species,
and it actually also happens to be the northern range
limit for a lot of southern species.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Oh it's a little bit of crossover there. Yeah, right,
that's kind of cool. When you couple all of that,
then with our mild climate, you end up with a
perfect location for all sorts of plants and animals called
San Diego County home. But Marco, as interesting as all
this is, it doesn't help us narrow down the species
you are thinking you're focusing on for this episode.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
That's true, And.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
You know, I'm pretty sure that everyone knows I'm a
little bit of a burd nerd between the.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Two of us, right, yeah, I think we all know that.
It's been well established in the season.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
It may have been a little bit obvious, but you know,
we did an episode about this particular species last season.
But you know, there are some new things happening that
I think it's worth visiting.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Friend, Wait, wait, wait, wait wait, I think I know
where you're going now that you said that the Southwest
of wildlife. It's a bird because you're a burdenerd and
one that's also part of our first season. Maybe instead
of asking what species you're thinking of, maybe I should
ask who who are you thinking of?
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I was waiting for that all season. But it's the
burrowing out, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
But in all fairness, they don't actually make that, you
know who who hooting sand that we often associate with
a lot of different owls out there.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
True, true, I can't mimic burrowing out calls, can you?
Or wait? Actually, for the sake of our listeners, should
you even try?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
You know that I probably have like a San Diego accent,
But I'm I'm game to put down my aul sad
if if you think you can do a please please
give me a little bit of grace on this right,
all right, this is this is my version of a
San Diego burwing out here we go.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
That's pretty good, right, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
But with that, I think it's only fair to our
listeners now that we go visit with someone who can
update us on all things burrowing owls here in San Diego.
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I think it's a great idea.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
I'm Colleen Wazinski. I'm a conservation program manager. I managed
the burrowing oil recovery program.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
With that then can you give an overview of what
that program.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Is for our audience.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Our program is what we call a full spectrum conservation
research program, So we try to tackle a lot of
different elements of conservation of burrowing owls in southern California
and mostly in San Diego County. We try to approach
conservation of burrowing owls from different angles and so that
has included in the past trying to get ground squirrels
(03:36):
back into the system. California ground scools are really important
for the species. We look at things like habitat needs,
habitat requirements. We do a lot of nest monitoring as well,
so we're keeping track of how many nests there are,
how many juveniles are produced from each nest, keeping track
of some of the other threats that they face, from
different types of predators to different types of human caused
(03:59):
problems that might be out there. And more recently we've
been doing a lot more translocation and conservation breeding of
the species to try to boost their numbers, mostly within
San Diego County, but also across within California.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
And one thing you mentioned full spectrum, so already just
you listed so many things that this project and program
does but one thing Mark and I've learned over the
last few episodes talking to people, it's also multiple teams.
We partner with many other entities that correct we do.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
We truly are an alliance. Not only do we partner internally,
so we are with the Conservation Science and Wildlife Health Team.
We also work with the Bird Department, We work with
the Nutrition Department. We work with many other groups across
the San Diego Zo Wildlife Alliance. But then we also
have many external partners because we're mostly working on land
that is not managed by SDZWA. We're working on lands
(04:50):
that are managed by the California Department of Ficial Wildlife,
the San Diego Habitat Conservancy coltrans No I'm going to
forget about of the City of San Diego, County of
San Diego.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
There are a lot of entities that we.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Work with just from the land management perspective, but then
also entities in the realm of conservation, wildlife management research,
other groups like the US Fish and Wildlife Service again,
California Department Official Wildlife, just a lot of other groups, nonprofits,
consulting groups that all have a stake in burrowing all
conservation right.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I love that that's teams with teams with teams with
I know, right.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
It literally takes a villains that a really big villain too,
And I gotta say ceo like for burring ol. For me,
it was one of the first times I felt connected
being a wildlifecare specialist with the external, the outside projects
and conservation. For me, it was a California condor. And
of course there's burring ol. And in case our listeners
aren't familiar with the species, can you describe the burring
ol for us a little bit?
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Yeah, Well, I'm really biased.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
They're ridiculously acute, right, They're absolutely cute.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
I mean, owls in general are, but these guys are.
There are a small species of owls, so if you
can imagine, they're about the size of water bottle that
you would buy at a concert or something, you know,
like adasawny water bottle, and they're only about twelve inches tall.
They have really long legs because they do live mostly
on the ground, so their tall legs help them kind
(06:13):
of get elevated off of the ground and see things.
They don't have a lot of feathers on their legs,
which is pretty unique for an owl. They are most
active during the well, I shouldn't say that they're active
twenty four to seven. That's an amazing thing about them.
A lot of owls are very inconspicuous because they are
mostly active at night and they're trying to kind of
(06:34):
stay hidden during the day and they're sleeping during the day.
And burrowing owls are really active just all around the clock.
They are very highly visible during the day. They do
a lot of hunting at night, but they are a
lot more visible than a lot of.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Other owls are.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Another unique thing about them is that they nest in burrows,
hence their name burrow an owl, and they don't actually
do the burrowing themselves for the most part, at least
within our part of their range. And so we're working
with the Western subspecies of burrowing owl, which is found
throughout western North America, and the soil doesn't really lend
itself very well to them digging their own burrows, so
(07:10):
they are highly reliant on other species like the California
ground squirrel, like different species of prairie dogs, badgers, tortoises
like the desert in San Diego.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Tortoises can play a role in that too, right.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
Yeah, And so they really rely on these what we
call ecosystem engineers to create burrows that they can then
use for nesting. They also use them just for protection
as well, so even during the non breeding season when
they wouldn't have a nest, they still can use the
burrows for protection if they need to. So they are
very reliant on these other species to provide nest sites
(07:44):
and other structures for them, to provide homes for them.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Basically, I want to go back real quick to what
you said earlier, that they're active all the time. I
think most all of us are used to the idea
that owls are night time creatures. You know, they're nocturnal,
the night owl mood and all that. What is it
about the burrowing owl, or at least in your experience,
why are they active around the clock? What is the
reason behind also being active during the daytime.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
That's a good question, I guess. I would say that
they're just more visible because they're nesting at a hole
in the ground, and their normal habitat is pretty open
grassland habitat, so they don't have a lot of places
to hide other than in the burrows, and they do
rely a lot on in our case, on ground squirrels.
The ground squirrels are active during the day, and so
(08:31):
the ground squirrels provide some vigilance to them, help them
kind of keep watch over what's going on, and a
lot of the hunting they're doing mostly at dusk and
into the night, and then some in the dawn hours
as well. But the females are pretty vigilant at the
nests and watching the juveniles during the day, and they
will occasionally run out and catch a beetle that's walking
(08:55):
across the ground or something like that. So I think
some of it probably has to do just with what
food they're eating, and so if they're having better luck
finding things that are active during the day, then they're
more active during the day. But they do rely a
lot on animals like small mammals like mice and lizards
and snakes and things that are active at night as well,
so they just kind of are going all the time.
(09:18):
And then I think another aspect of that is with
things that are nesting in cavities and trees, those juveniles
are pretty stock to being inside the tree, right or
if they're like a great horned owl nesting on a
platform of sticks, they're stuck with being on that platform
the burrowing owls because they're on the ground and they
(09:39):
don't have to worry about falling out of a tree
or anything like that. The juveniles are very active during
the day as well, so they have that whole area
in front of the burrow. I mean, they don't go
super far, but they're very active. They're exercising their muscles,
they're interacting with each other, they're learning how to manipulate
things in the environment. So the photos that we get
of them during the day is they're so funny. I
(10:00):
love them. I love seeing them. They pounce on each other,
they pounce on sticks, they pounce on like anything they
can find.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
So much personality.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Yeah, it's on the personality they're interacting with each other.
And then every so often, because they are still babies,
they need their sleep, and so every once in a
while you'll just see them face plant, like they just
they're in the middle of it and they just fall asleep,
kind of like a puppy, and they just exhaust themselves.
And I could go on and on and on about
the things you see.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I can't tell that you enjoyed this at all working
with them.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
When you were saying too, like being awake and active
in different parts of the day or the night. You
think about all the areas right, burrowing ows can be
found a Florida at one point. Numbers are strong the
Midwest when you have a prairie dogs, an example of
course here in San Diego, the ground squirrel. But what
I get most excited about, honestly, friend, about burrowing.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Ows is the community aspect of it, you know.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
I mean, there's so many other species that are dependent
to on burrowing ows and vice versa.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
You were referencing the desert tortoise.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Is the ground scrolls as well, and that's sort of unique,
I think, compared to other owl species around the world.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Yeah, I guess you could say that I hadn't really
ever thought about it like that, but yeah, I think
that's probably true. It seems like they are really dependent
on this whole ecosystem. Really all animals are, but it
does seem really strikingly obvious with burrowing owls that there's
this whole community that interacts.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
With each other exactly. There's an excellent example. Kids can
see that themselves, right a Wildlife Explorers base camp. We
get to see prairie dogs where they're burrowing owls, which
is really really an amazing adaptation.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I think, yeah, habitat at the zoo, Yeah, And I
think you bring up a good point, Marko. It's like
we've talked about before in other episodes, how there are
many species that rely on other species for you know,
wide right reasons. But yeah, I think it's fair to
say that the burrowing owl offers up a different way
to realize that when we remove ground squirrels, we remove
the opportunity for nesting sites, so therefore the population is
(11:50):
going to drop or any other version of that. And
sometimes we think about, oh, it's a food source or
it's a seed disperser that helps other but in this case,
it really is that community. And also you had kind
hinted to before calling too, is it being in that
community with other species not only relying on the housing.
But then we talk about predators. A lot of times
people think, well, you're an owl, you're on top of
the food chain, but burrowing owls have to worry about
(12:11):
predators too, so they're an extra set of eyes along
with the ground squirrels or whomever else it might be
residing with. Can you share a little bit about how
burrowing owls have to also be vigilant for someone who
might want to eat them.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Yeah. As I said, there are a very small species
of owl. They only weigh about one hundred and fifty grams,
which is about the size of a single sort of
yogurt cup or like a stick of butter. So you
can imagine just how light they are.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Yeah, And so even though they're hunting things to eat,
they are strictly carnivorous. They need to hunt other things
in order to survive. They also are hunted by things
that are larger than them, and this can include things
that you wouldn't even think about. One of the big
issues we see in San Diego County are common ravens
as a predator of burrowing owls. That would not have
been nearly as much of a predator in the past,
(12:59):
but that's a species that has really figured out how
to live alongside us as humans and really takes advantage
of that and other things that we have, like in
our built environment that really help the ravens and other
predator species like great horned owls can be another major
predator of adult burrowing owls. And because we plant trees
and create poles and towers and things like that to
(13:21):
support our own needs. That really helps the great horned
owls as well, and to be in much closer proximity
than they kind of naturally would have been with burrowing owls,
So even in a completely unimpacted environment, they would have
had to deal with predators like northern harriers and foxes
and you know, just things that also need to eat.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Yeah, people think raptor, oh, it's a meat either, nothing
is going to harm these guys. But now, I mean,
raptors are in so many different shapes and sizes. I'm
sure the public is aware of the American castrol as well,
with the smallest falcon in the United States.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Definitely has to watch that for others.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
You mentioned the northern harrea that's like a hawk look
and raptor folks in case not familiar with it, and
they use sound. They're picking up sounds underground, which is
something that burrowing out definitely has to talk for. But
it's interesting all those nuances in community with that, with
the concept of predation and what these owls have to do.
I'm sure you've seen examples of that out in the wild,
and some of your research with some of those owl
(14:17):
communities can you speak a little bit of maybe some
of those examples you've seen out there.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Yeah, I mentioned the ravens. The ravens, really, I think
are one of our bigger issues. We deal with coyotes,
we deal with things like skunks and weasels. So really
there's a wide variety of other animals that will try
to eat burrowing owls. I mean, they're going to eat
whatever they can find, and if the burrowing owls in
their path, then they become part of the menu. And
(14:41):
let's see, peregrine falcons would be another one. We've even
seen red tailed hawks go after some of the owls.
So I mean, I think a lot of these hunters
are very opportunistic, just like the burrowing owls themselves. They're
really trying to just find food and they're not going
to be very picky. You know, if they find it
and they can eat it, they're going to try to
get it. Yeah, the same thing happens to them.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Yeah, interesting ways of avoiding predation tea, right, I mean,
obviously the burrows on My absolute favorite, you guys, is
the chicks in particular can make a rattlesnake sound, which
can totally confuse a predator myself included by the way.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
I mean I heard this one day.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
We needed a process, but basically it's like a physical
right for the young chicks of the year, and we
needed to go in and I needed to put my
hand in that burrow. And even though we had a camera,
even though we could see the chicks there in that
burrow and I could not see a snake, that sound, though,
was so perfectly like a rattlesnake that I even cringe
a little bit knowing that that I'm putting my hand
(15:37):
in this thing.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
But that's a really cool adaptation to you.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
All those behavioral nuances for burrowing how was I absolutely love.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
Yeah, they're very very convincing when it comes to the
rattlesnake call. I mean, it kind of works both ways
because then after a while you're like, oh, it's just
an owl, and you become kind of be sensitized and
you have to remind yourself, like, no, there really can
be a snake in there sometimes, so we need to
be careful about that. But they are very very good
at mimicking rattlesnakes, and it is a really neat adaptation
(16:03):
because they're completely vulnerable if something gets into the burrow.
They really don't have any defenses. I mean, they do
have talons, but they're not very big and they're not
very strong at that point. So yeah, the trying to
scare other animals away by mimicking something that is actually
dangerous is a pretty neat adaptation.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
I think so too.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
And you know, we're talking about predators as well, but
there's other aspects he's burrowing us have to watch out
for and look out in the wild. We were just
talking about weather a little bit ago. Can you talk
about especially this year, We've had some interesting weather patterns
here in San Diego, right.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
Yeah, we had a lot of rain this year. So
much rain in the first like four or five months
of the year just really abnormal for us to have.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
It.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Usually we get you know, rain in through like January February,
but we had rain all the way through really May
and June of this year, and that really did kind
of mess things up for the owls. It delayed their
nesting because obviously in a hole in the ground, if
the soil is very wet, then burrow might get flooded.
So we had quite a few burrows that were just
saturated with water for quite a long time, and then
(17:06):
once things did start to dry out, they were about
a month behind in their normal timing. And then another
aspect of having so much rain is that then we
also got a lot of vegetation. And this is a
species that's adapted to native grasslands here in western North
America that are generally filled with bunch grasses which grow
(17:27):
kind of clumpy. They don't grow super tall, so there's
a lot of bare ground between the different grasses. They
also in California at least had a lot of forbs,
which are basically soft vegetation that like little flowers and
little leafy vegetation that doesn't grow very tall. And with
all the rain and the fact that we have a
(17:48):
lot of non native species or I guess I should
say invasive species in some ways that grow very differently
from the native vegetation. It grows very tall, it grows
very thick, and when those grasses at the end of
the growing season, they fall over and they kind of
create this carpet that is almost impenetrable. And we saw
a lot of problems with that this year, with the
(18:08):
owls not being able to get to any of the
food that would be kind of running around usually in
those open bear areas between plants, but there wasn't really
any open bear area between the plants, so it was
really restricting their ability to find food. And then we had,
you know, a hurricane in August.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
I forgot about that, you guys, which luckily.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
For us here in San Diego didn't cause a lot
of problems. We didn't get nearly as much rain as others,
and so I think the owls maybe just saw it
as a little bit of a spa day reprie. Didn't
seem like it affected them very much. But the rain
earlier in the year certainly did just in terms of
their ability to move through their environment, and also it
probably did not help make sure that there was enough
(18:53):
food for them. So you know, other animals suffered from
the rain as well.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Well. I want to ask you on the heels of
that then too. We've talked a lot about the different
natural aspects of the burrowing owl and their environment and
some of the challenges they face with other predators or
increase in raven population, et cetera. Now, with the rains,
of course changing the landscape with the plants, but I
want to kind of pull back a little bit and
could you share with us why is it important for
(19:20):
your work to continue? Why is the burrowing owl a
species that we as an organization in San Diegozo Wildlife
Alliance has teamed up with so many other organizations, whether
it's state, county or city, other nonprofits, etc. To make
sure we don't lose the species. Why is this so
important to us?
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Yeah, I think first and foremost is important because they're
a species that has lived here for millennia, that evolved here,
that is supposed to be here as part of our
natural heritage in North America. To have the species, they're
part of the natural landscape. And we talked a lot
about the whole community and the ecosystem earlier, and you
(19:59):
really don't know what the effects of taking one piece
out of an ecosystem is, and we're taking a lot
of pieces out of the ecosystems and not really knowing
what the ultimate effects are going to be. I think
it can be a little bit hard to say that
this species has this value, and I think we do
a disservice to our work into those animals to try
(20:20):
to kind of quantify their value. But I think that
because they're a part of our natural heritage, and they
are a species that has been declining for probably thirty
years at this point. That as an organization, we want
to maintain native species in their natural habitats, and this
goes across the world, not just here instead in California.
(20:43):
But I think we feel a special responsibility because they
are in our own backyard and they live in our
home state of California, and they have been declining for
quite a while, and they're also a quite visible, charismatic species,
and so it's I guess maybe easier to see that
they're declining because they used to be all over and
now they're not. And I've talked to a lot of
(21:04):
people that grew up here that can talk about remembering
seeing burrowing owls, you know, throughout Poway and Carlsbad and
these places that you would never expect to see them
anymore because they've been built and there's not these open
grasslands left. So California grasslands are an endangered habitat. And
then we have all these other species, including burrowing owls,
(21:26):
that are a piece of that puzzle. And there's interest
at the local conservation level with this species as well
among many others within the county of San Diego. We
have plans for trying to maintain native species and to
conserve our native habitats and native species. There's just a
lot of support within the conservation community to work with
(21:49):
this species and try to conserve them, along with a
number of other really amazing charismatic species that we work with,
like pocket mice and canary rats and desert cordas of
those guys.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Yeah, I think it's the fair to say that, like
many of the species we've had the opportunity to explore
and talk about on amazing wildlife, it's it's one of
those things where it's not just about the one individual species,
but when we focus on that one and all the
pieces they come in contact with and other pieces that
they rely on, it really paints that bigger picture than
of the value of the ecosystem, value of the species,
(22:22):
et cetera.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Right, And if we protect grasslands for burrowing owls, and
we also protect grasslands for Stevens kangaroo rat and California
ground squirrels and all the other different butterflies. Yeah, but yeah,
and the plants themselves and all these.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Other diversity, right, diverse.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
Exactly exactly, and having a biodiverse ecosystem helps us be
more resilient to things like climate change. So having that
much healthier ecosystem will help us ultimately as well.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Talking about the diversity reminds you that I want to
let the kids, that includes you guys, who we're all
connected here and you know we're working with collaborators locally
nationwide as well, but we're here in San Diego County.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
I love our hubs. By the way.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
We're all over the world, you guys, but as you know,
the Southwest, it's one of my absolute favorites. We have
so much unique wildlife right here in San Diego County.
And I've seen you out there doing your thing, doing
amazing work out there in areas like Hamul and Ramona
where I grew up.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
O Tai Mesa as well.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
And there was a recent story kind of a unique
predicament that happened out in O taime Asa.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Could you share with us a little what happened?
Speaker 4 (23:24):
Sure, because of all those rings earlier in the year,
the owls were having a lot of trouble finding food.
We have one area that was restored not just for
burrowing owls, but for native species that unfortunately the rains
really caused a lot of overgrowth of vegetation, and so
the owls at that site were really struggling this year.
And we had a couple of situations with two different
(23:48):
nests where one of the parents disappeared, and usually for
burrowing owls, they need both parents in order for the
juveniles to survive to fledging, and even if they make
it to fledging, there's no guarantees there. So like every
baby owl counts really in our book for trying to
conserve the species, and so working with our partners like
the Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of
(24:10):
Fishing Wildlife, we made the decision for these two nests
that when one of the parents disappeared, that we were
going to take the chicks to what we call head start,
so trying to ensure that they survive to adulthood and
then once they've made it to adulthood and they can
be put back into their natural environment, that they have
a much better chance of surviving and thriving and having
(24:33):
chicks of their own to continue on the generations. And
one of our big initiatives with our program is to
try to expand the burrowing all population in San Diego
County because we only had really one pretty small area
where the owls were breeding. And with the work of
our partners over the last dozen years, we've been working
(24:53):
toward trying to add areas where there are owls, add
owls to different places like Ramona where they have been
in the past and unfortunately they stopped being there because
of changes in the environment. And through the hard work
of a lot of our partners as far as habitat
management and trying to get the grasslands back to functioning
well and our own expertise with animal care and conservation breeding,
(25:18):
that we were able to do things like have a
conservation breeding program which also enables us to intervene with
these wild chicks so that we can do things like
head starting them. And so we made the decision, which
you know, we don't make it lightly, to bring these
guys in and make sure that they survive to adulthood
and then they'll go back out into those other areas.
(25:39):
Ramona are home mole in next year when they're adults,
so that they can meet other owls and owls do.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Yeah, that makes me what. So the different areas you're
talking about are separated by urban areas, So the O
time Mason population would not normally mix necessarily with the
Humble population or others, right, or do they travel that distance.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
They have the ability to. And we have seen some
movement between O Tai Mesa and Homol or I should
say the other way really from Homole to O taig
Casa and in some cases they go back to Homewold.
So those two sites definitely have some level of connectivity.
Ramona is not quite as well connected, and that's something
that as a larger group that trying to identify other
(26:22):
areas to enhance the population, to create this interconnected group
of owls. And I mean it's also I guess worth
mentioning that like, just because there's a boundary on a
map in our eyes does not mean that it exists
for the owls. And so the burrowing owls that we
have here also travel into northern Mexico, right, And so
they're kind of all interconnected, and so trying to make
(26:45):
sure that there are more owls out there to continue on.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
So yeah, and the reason I was asking is because
these chicks that were rescued, which I think is so cool.
It's so cool to be able to not just breed
them and put them out, you know, into their natural
environment than to allsco Await a minute, those I love
how you said every chick is important to us. Those
three are in danger of possible loss of life to
(27:08):
no fault of their own, but for the fault of
other situations coming into play. Some of them human influenced.
So therefore let's influence by taking them out, giving them
that head start. And so the reason I asked about
the movement between the different areas because you're choosing to
put them back though in a different area to help
with the genetics. Is that correct, right?
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Yeah, So they'll help us enhance the genetic diversity at
those other two smaller sites that we've been working on establishing.
When we're dealing with very small populations to begin with,
there are some limitations there with genetic diversity, and so
this also helps us. They can help contribute to their
species here by adding some more genetic diversity into those
(27:47):
smaller groups that we're trying to grow and that you know,
hopefully in ten or twenty years will be just as
big as the Chinese population.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Awesome, sounds like amazing work. I love it.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
And for guests, you know you visit us as Theafari
Park of the San Diegos. You look at these adorable
little burrowing owls at either Wildlife Explorers base camp or
at Condor Ridge, and you guys are a part of
that as well.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
And we also have a.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Burrowing ol cameraight so anyone around the world can log
in and see some of the amazing burrowing owls or
I think is a blast.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
Yeah, I don't know if there are any owls on
the camera.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
I checked it this morning.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
I didn't see any, but you'll see activity all throughout
the year, not only burrowingos of many other species. Also,
there's also a program I wanted to ask you really
quick where guests and the public can get involved in
these conservation efforts called wild Watch.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Can you can you talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Yeah, we have a project called wild Watch Burrowing Owl
that's part of the z Universe platform, which is a
web based citizen science program that allows anybody from anywhere
in the world to get involved with a lot of
different types of research. But with wild Watch Burrowing Owl specifically,
we use remote cameras at the burrow entrances to monitor
(28:51):
the nests and how many chicks and just what's happening
during the breeding season, and some of those photos we
put up onto wild Watch to have volunteers helped us
identify what's in the photo.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
I Actually the thing I like more about it is
that there's this amazing community that has grown up there
that interacts with each other and with us, asking us
questions and asking each other questions about what they're seeing
in the photos and why it's happening. And so you know,
we have people that consistently help out with that that
are from all over the world really and so it's
(29:24):
a really fun way for us to share what we
do but also share the magic of the species.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yeah, I know, agreed, it's so great.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
And also for the kids out they're not only wild Watch,
but sometimes we include that program in our Twitch channel,
so in case kids don't know, we have a Twitch
channel at San Diego Zoo and every now and again
we'll hit on the burrowing ows or other unique species too.
So a lot of ways to get involved in conservation.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
And I want to touch on the Wildwatch program too.
The value and that is that often I think Mark
when I have both experiences, when we go out to
the public and give talks or we might be doing presentation.
Is that sense of I want to get involved, but
I didn't take science classes, or I'm not a signcientist.
I'm not a conservationist. You know, I'm already doing this
job where I'm raising my kids, or my kids are interested,
(30:05):
but I don't know what to do. Anybody can be
a part of that Wild Batch program, and you are contributing.
It's making a difference for the researchers, and like you said,
there's a community in there. People can get more involved.
So kids, you'll need an adult to sign you up
and be part of it. But what a great way
to spend time with your parents and get them involved
in animals that you like and enjoy. What a great
(30:26):
way for parents to get their kids involved. Or if
you are retired, you can be anywhere. All you need
really is the internet access and you can go through
these images, which are so important because for one person,
one researcher, to go through all those thousands and thousands
of images would take forever a million, yeah, billions, okay,
But then the community doing it, you know, being involved
and being a part of this is so wonderful. It's
(30:48):
a great opportunity for those who believe there might be
some barrier for them to be part of something that
they actually can contribute in such a meaningful way. I
love that this program exists and it's still moving forward,
and it's so helpful to what the work you do.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
Yeah, and I can't overstate how I feel like it's
just magical to get to look through the photos. I
probably over use that word, but no.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
But you're right there. You see some of the cutest stuff.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
I've seen a burn out play with a little feather before,
or try to chase it a little bug, or like
you mentioned them, falling asleep in the middle of the
day and just h you see the cutest things out there.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (31:24):
And I don't know how many opportunities people have in
this like very busy society that we're a part of
to really attach themselves to something that is so different
from their normal day to day and to get to
have this like window into stuff that's still happening out there,
like wherever out there is, right, you know, but all
of the wildlife around us are just trying to survive
(31:46):
day to day, and we get this small little peak
into what that looks like for this one particular species
and I feel like it's really humbling, honestly, to see
they're just trying to survive, just like all the rest
of us are. And just the magic of what that
looks like and how they interact with each other and
how they interact with the environment around them, and to
have that secret peak, I guess then not everybody gets to.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Have your passion. Calleen is quite obvious, and it's infectious
and it's exciting, and I hope that our listening audience
will jump in and check out the wild Watch Burrowing
Owl program. And of course if there's any need to
want to be more involved, you can always go to
our website SDZWA dot org. But again calling, thank you
so much for your time today and sharing the story
of the burrowing owls with us.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
Thank you for having me, and I would be remiss
if I don't mention the amazing team that is also
a part of this, just that I'm representing here today,
So thank you for having me and us by extension.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Thank you for all the the geeks, burd Nerds, the Avengers.
I appreciate all of you, so thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Marco On behalf of all of us, non burd nerds.
I just want to say thank you for selecting burrowing
owls for this episode.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Oh man, it was my absolute pleasure and I love it.
And to be honest, if you were up to me,
we'd be doing the whole season on birds.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Oh. I don't doubt it. I know, I know.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
I love your.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Love for birds, and I love the passion and compassion
that we heard coming from Colleen about these little owls
that play such a big role in ecosystem. And again,
like we have been hearing from other conservationists this season,
it's a team of people working with other teams and partners,
all coming together to truly make these conservation efforts successful.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
I mean one might even say an alliance, maybe even
a wildlife alliance.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Yes, very good, Marco, a wildlife alliance.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Nicely, Thank you, sir, And if anyone listening wants to
join us and become an ally for wildlife, I encourage
you to go to our website SDZWA dot org to
find out more. You can explore our conservation efforts around
the world or.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Maybe even fine on right here in your own backyard.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
And speaking of conservation hubs around the world, it's time
for us to head down Under to start working on
another episode of Amazing Wildlife. Be sure to subscribe so
you don't miss our next episode in which Marco and
I explore the Australian Forest Hub talking about one of
our favorite tree dwelling Marsupials.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Now Marco Litt.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And I'm Rich Schwartz. Thanks for listening. For more information
about the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park,
go to SDZWA dot org. Amazing Wildlife is a production
of iHeartRadio's Ruby Studios. Our supervising producer is Nikiah Swinton
and our sound designer and editor is Sierra Spreen. For
(34:36):
more shows from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
Hi, I'm Rick Schwartz, buenel zs World. I'm Marco went.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Welcome to Amazing Wildlife, where we explore unique stories of
wildlife from around the world and uncovered fascinating animal facts.
This podcast is a production of iHeartRadio's Ruby Studios and
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance in international nonprofit conservation organization,
which oversees the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park Hey Ray.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Since recovering our Southwest conservation hub this episode, I was
thinking we could focus on some wildlife thing we found
right here in San Diego County.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I like that idea, Marco. But to be fair, you know,
San Diego County is considered one of the most biologically
diverse counties in the United States, Right, so I think
you're gonna need to narrow it down a little bit.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I think you're right. And there's that word diversity again.
I love that word.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
But with our beatches right our inland coastal areas, our deserts,
and even our mountains, I mean, we have all sorts
of different ecosystems right here.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Right.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yeah, here's a fun fact for some of our listeners
that they may not know. But San Diego County is
considered to be the southern range limit for many northern species,
and it actually also happens to be the northern range
limit for a lot of southern species.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Oh it's a little bit of crossover there. Yeah, right,
that's kind of cool. When you couple all of that,
then with our mild climate, you end up with a
perfect location for all sorts of plants and animals called
San Diego County home. But Marco, as interesting as all
this is, it doesn't help us narrow down the species
you are thinking you're focusing on for this episode.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
That's true, And.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
You know, I'm pretty sure that everyone knows I'm a
little bit of a burd nerd between the.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Two of us, right, yeah, I think we all know that.
It's been well established in the season.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
It may have been a little bit obvious, but you know,
we did an episode about this particular species last season.
But you know, there are some new things happening that
I think it's worth visiting.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Friend, Wait, wait, wait, wait wait, I think I know
where you're going now that you said that the Southwest
of wildlife. It's a bird because you're a burdenerd and
one that's also part of our first season. Maybe instead
of asking what species you're thinking of, maybe I should
ask who who are you thinking of?
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I was waiting for that all season. But it's the
burrowing out, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
But in all fairness, they don't actually make that, you
know who who hooting sand that we often associate with
a lot of different owls out there.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
True, true, I can't mimic burrowing out calls, can you?
Or wait? Actually, for the sake of our listeners, should
you even try?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
You know that I probably have like a San Diego accent,
But I'm I'm game to put down my aul sad
if if you think you can do a please please
give me a little bit of grace on this right,
all right, this is this is my version of a
San Diego burwing out here we go.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
That's pretty good, right, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
But with that, I think it's only fair to our
listeners now that we go visit with someone who can
update us on all things burrowing owls here in San Diego.
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I think it's a great idea.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
I'm Colleen Wazinski. I'm a conservation program manager. I managed
the burrowing oil recovery program.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
With that then can you give an overview of what
that program.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Is for our audience.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Our program is what we call a full spectrum conservation
research program, So we try to tackle a lot of
different elements of conservation of burrowing owls in southern California
and mostly in San Diego County. We try to approach
conservation of burrowing owls from different angles and so that
has included in the past trying to get ground squirrels
(03:36):
back into the system. California ground scools are really important
for the species. We look at things like habitat needs,
habitat requirements. We do a lot of nest monitoring as well,
so we're keeping track of how many nests there are,
how many juveniles are produced from each nest, keeping track
of some of the other threats that they face, from
different types of predators to different types of human caused
(03:59):
problems that might be out there. And more recently we've
been doing a lot more translocation and conservation breeding of
the species to try to boost their numbers, mostly within
San Diego County, but also across within California.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
And one thing you mentioned full spectrum, so already just
you listed so many things that this project and program
does but one thing Mark and I've learned over the
last few episodes talking to people, it's also multiple teams.
We partner with many other entities that correct we do.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
We truly are an alliance. Not only do we partner internally,
so we are with the Conservation Science and Wildlife Health Team.
We also work with the Bird Department, We work with
the Nutrition Department. We work with many other groups across
the San Diego Zo Wildlife Alliance. But then we also
have many external partners because we're mostly working on land
that is not managed by SDZWA. We're working on lands
(04:50):
that are managed by the California Department of Ficial Wildlife,
the San Diego Habitat Conservancy coltrans No I'm going to
forget about of the City of San Diego, County of
San Diego.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
There are a lot of entities that we.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Work with just from the land management perspective, but then
also entities in the realm of conservation, wildlife management research,
other groups like the US Fish and Wildlife Service again,
California Department Official Wildlife, just a lot of other groups, nonprofits,
consulting groups that all have a stake in burrowing all
conservation right.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I love that that's teams with teams with teams with
I know, right.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
It literally takes a villains that a really big villain too,
And I gotta say ceo like for burring ol. For me,
it was one of the first times I felt connected
being a wildlifecare specialist with the external, the outside projects
and conservation. For me, it was a California condor. And
of course there's burring ol. And in case our listeners
aren't familiar with the species, can you describe the burring
ol for us a little bit?
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Yeah, Well, I'm really biased.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
They're ridiculously acute, right, They're absolutely cute.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
I mean, owls in general are, but these guys are.
There are a small species of owls, so if you
can imagine, they're about the size of water bottle that
you would buy at a concert or something, you know,
like adasawny water bottle, and they're only about twelve inches tall.
They have really long legs because they do live mostly
on the ground, so their tall legs help them kind
(06:13):
of get elevated off of the ground and see things.
They don't have a lot of feathers on their legs,
which is pretty unique for an owl. They are most
active during the well, I shouldn't say that they're active
twenty four to seven. That's an amazing thing about them.
A lot of owls are very inconspicuous because they are
mostly active at night and they're trying to kind of
(06:34):
stay hidden during the day and they're sleeping during the day.
And burrowing owls are really active just all around the clock.
They are very highly visible during the day. They do
a lot of hunting at night, but they are a
lot more visible than a lot of.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Other owls are.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Another unique thing about them is that they nest in burrows,
hence their name burrow an owl, and they don't actually
do the burrowing themselves for the most part, at least
within our part of their range. And so we're working
with the Western subspecies of burrowing owl, which is found
throughout western North America, and the soil doesn't really lend
itself very well to them digging their own burrows, so
(07:10):
they are highly reliant on other species like the California
ground squirrel, like different species of prairie dogs, badgers, tortoises
like the desert in San Diego.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Tortoises can play a role in that too, right.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
Yeah, And so they really rely on these what we
call ecosystem engineers to create burrows that they can then
use for nesting. They also use them just for protection
as well, so even during the non breeding season when
they wouldn't have a nest, they still can use the
burrows for protection if they need to. So they are
very reliant on these other species to provide nest sites
(07:44):
and other structures for them, to provide homes for them.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Basically, I want to go back real quick to what
you said earlier, that they're active all the time. I
think most all of us are used to the idea
that owls are night time creatures. You know, they're nocturnal,
the night owl mood and all that. What is it
about the burrowing owl, or at least in your experience,
why are they active around the clock? What is the
reason behind also being active during the daytime.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
That's a good question, I guess. I would say that
they're just more visible because they're nesting at a hole
in the ground, and their normal habitat is pretty open
grassland habitat, so they don't have a lot of places
to hide other than in the burrows, and they do
rely a lot on in our case, on ground squirrels.
The ground squirrels are active during the day, and so
(08:31):
the ground squirrels provide some vigilance to them, help them
kind of keep watch over what's going on, and a
lot of the hunting they're doing mostly at dusk and
into the night, and then some in the dawn hours
as well. But the females are pretty vigilant at the
nests and watching the juveniles during the day, and they
will occasionally run out and catch a beetle that's walking
(08:55):
across the ground or something like that. So I think
some of it probably has to do just with what
food they're eating, and so if they're having better luck
finding things that are active during the day, then they're
more active during the day. But they do rely a
lot on animals like small mammals like mice and lizards
and snakes and things that are active at night as well,
so they just kind of are going all the time.
(09:18):
And then I think another aspect of that is with
things that are nesting in cavities and trees, those juveniles
are pretty stock to being inside the tree, right or
if they're like a great horned owl nesting on a
platform of sticks, they're stuck with being on that platform
the burrowing owls because they're on the ground and they
(09:39):
don't have to worry about falling out of a tree
or anything like that. The juveniles are very active during
the day as well, so they have that whole area
in front of the burrow. I mean, they don't go
super far, but they're very active. They're exercising their muscles,
they're interacting with each other, they're learning how to manipulate
things in the environment. So the photos that we get
of them during the day is they're so funny. I
(10:00):
love them. I love seeing them. They pounce on each other,
they pounce on sticks, they pounce on like anything they
can find.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
So much personality.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Yeah, it's on the personality they're interacting with each other.
And then every so often, because they are still babies,
they need their sleep, and so every once in a
while you'll just see them face plant, like they just
they're in the middle of it and they just fall asleep,
kind of like a puppy, and they just exhaust themselves.
And I could go on and on and on about
the things you see.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I can't tell that you enjoyed this at all working
with them.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
When you were saying too, like being awake and active
in different parts of the day or the night. You
think about all the areas right, burrowing ows can be
found a Florida at one point. Numbers are strong the
Midwest when you have a prairie dogs, an example of
course here in San Diego, the ground squirrel. But what
I get most excited about, honestly, friend, about burrowing.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Ows is the community aspect of it, you know.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
I mean, there's so many other species that are dependent
to on burrowing ows and vice versa.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
You were referencing the desert tortoise.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Is the ground scrolls as well, and that's sort of unique,
I think, compared to other owl species around the world.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Yeah, I guess you could say that I hadn't really
ever thought about it like that, but yeah, I think
that's probably true. It seems like they are really dependent
on this whole ecosystem. Really all animals are, but it
does seem really strikingly obvious with burrowing owls that there's
this whole community that interacts.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
With each other exactly. There's an excellent example. Kids can
see that themselves, right a Wildlife Explorers base camp. We
get to see prairie dogs where they're burrowing owls, which
is really really an amazing adaptation.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
I think, yeah, habitat at the zoo, Yeah, And I
think you bring up a good point, Marko. It's like
we've talked about before in other episodes, how there are
many species that rely on other species for you know,
wide right reasons. But yeah, I think it's fair to
say that the burrowing owl offers up a different way
to realize that when we remove ground squirrels, we remove
the opportunity for nesting sites, so therefore the population is
(11:50):
going to drop or any other version of that. And
sometimes we think about, oh, it's a food source or
it's a seed disperser that helps other but in this case,
it really is that community. And also you had kind
hinted to before calling too, is it being in that
community with other species not only relying on the housing.
But then we talk about predators. A lot of times
people think, well, you're an owl, you're on top of
the food chain, but burrowing owls have to worry about
(12:11):
predators too, so they're an extra set of eyes along
with the ground squirrels or whomever else it might be
residing with. Can you share a little bit about how
burrowing owls have to also be vigilant for someone who
might want to eat them.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Yeah. As I said, there are a very small species
of owl. They only weigh about one hundred and fifty grams,
which is about the size of a single sort of
yogurt cup or like a stick of butter. So you
can imagine just how light they are.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Yeah, And so even though they're hunting things to eat,
they are strictly carnivorous. They need to hunt other things
in order to survive. They also are hunted by things
that are larger than them, and this can include things
that you wouldn't even think about. One of the big
issues we see in San Diego County are common ravens
as a predator of burrowing owls. That would not have
been nearly as much of a predator in the past,
(12:59):
but that's a species that has really figured out how
to live alongside us as humans and really takes advantage
of that and other things that we have, like in
our built environment that really help the ravens and other
predator species like great horned owls can be another major
predator of adult burrowing owls. And because we plant trees
and create poles and towers and things like that to
(13:21):
support our own needs. That really helps the great horned
owls as well, and to be in much closer proximity
than they kind of naturally would have been with burrowing owls,
So even in a completely unimpacted environment, they would have
had to deal with predators like northern harriers and foxes
and you know, just things that also need to eat.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Yeah, people think raptor, oh, it's a meat either, nothing
is going to harm these guys. But now, I mean,
raptors are in so many different shapes and sizes. I'm
sure the public is aware of the American castrol as well,
with the smallest falcon in the United States.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Definitely has to watch that for others.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
You mentioned the northern harrea that's like a hawk look
and raptor folks in case not familiar with it, and
they use sound. They're picking up sounds underground, which is
something that burrowing out definitely has to talk for. But
it's interesting all those nuances in community with that, with
the concept of predation and what these owls have to do.
I'm sure you've seen examples of that out in the wild,
and some of your research with some of those owl
(14:17):
communities can you speak a little bit of maybe some
of those examples you've seen out there.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Yeah, I mentioned the ravens. The ravens, really, I think
are one of our bigger issues. We deal with coyotes,
we deal with things like skunks and weasels. So really
there's a wide variety of other animals that will try
to eat burrowing owls. I mean, they're going to eat
whatever they can find, and if the burrowing owls in
their path, then they become part of the menu. And
(14:41):
let's see, peregrine falcons would be another one. We've even
seen red tailed hawks go after some of the owls.
So I mean, I think a lot of these hunters
are very opportunistic, just like the burrowing owls themselves. They're
really trying to just find food and they're not going
to be very picky. You know, if they find it
and they can eat it, they're going to try to
get it. Yeah, the same thing happens to them.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Yeah, interesting ways of avoiding predation tea, right, I mean,
obviously the burrows on My absolute favorite, you guys, is
the chicks in particular can make a rattlesnake sound, which
can totally confuse a predator myself included by the way.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
I mean I heard this one day.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
We needed a process, but basically it's like a physical
right for the young chicks of the year, and we
needed to go in and I needed to put my
hand in that burrow. And even though we had a camera,
even though we could see the chicks there in that
burrow and I could not see a snake, that sound, though,
was so perfectly like a rattlesnake that I even cringe
a little bit knowing that that I'm putting my hand
(15:37):
in this thing.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
But that's a really cool adaptation to you.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
All those behavioral nuances for burrowing how was I absolutely love.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
Yeah, they're very very convincing when it comes to the
rattlesnake call. I mean, it kind of works both ways
because then after a while you're like, oh, it's just
an owl, and you become kind of be sensitized and
you have to remind yourself, like, no, there really can
be a snake in there sometimes, so we need to
be careful about that. But they are very very good
at mimicking rattlesnakes, and it is a really neat adaptation
(16:03):
because they're completely vulnerable if something gets into the burrow.
They really don't have any defenses. I mean, they do
have talons, but they're not very big and they're not
very strong at that point. So yeah, the trying to
scare other animals away by mimicking something that is actually
dangerous is a pretty neat adaptation.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
I think so too.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
And you know, we're talking about predators as well, but
there's other aspects he's burrowing us have to watch out
for and look out in the wild. We were just
talking about weather a little bit ago. Can you talk
about especially this year, We've had some interesting weather patterns
here in San Diego, right.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
Yeah, we had a lot of rain this year. So
much rain in the first like four or five months
of the year just really abnormal for us to have.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
It.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Usually we get you know, rain in through like January February,
but we had rain all the way through really May
and June of this year, and that really did kind
of mess things up for the owls. It delayed their
nesting because obviously in a hole in the ground, if
the soil is very wet, then burrow might get flooded.
So we had quite a few burrows that were just
saturated with water for quite a long time, and then
(17:06):
once things did start to dry out, they were about
a month behind in their normal timing. And then another
aspect of having so much rain is that then we
also got a lot of vegetation. And this is a
species that's adapted to native grasslands here in western North
America that are generally filled with bunch grasses which grow
(17:27):
kind of clumpy. They don't grow super tall, so there's
a lot of bare ground between the different grasses. They
also in California at least had a lot of forbs,
which are basically soft vegetation that like little flowers and
little leafy vegetation that doesn't grow very tall. And with
all the rain and the fact that we have a
(17:48):
lot of non native species or I guess I should
say invasive species in some ways that grow very differently
from the native vegetation. It grows very tall, it grows
very thick, and when those grasses at the end of
the growing season, they fall over and they kind of
create this carpet that is almost impenetrable. And we saw
a lot of problems with that this year, with the
(18:08):
owls not being able to get to any of the
food that would be kind of running around usually in
those open bear areas between plants, but there wasn't really
any open bear area between the plants, so it was
really restricting their ability to find food. And then we had,
you know, a hurricane in August.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
I forgot about that, you guys, which luckily.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
For us here in San Diego didn't cause a lot
of problems. We didn't get nearly as much rain as others,
and so I think the owls maybe just saw it
as a little bit of a spa day reprie. Didn't
seem like it affected them very much. But the rain
earlier in the year certainly did just in terms of
their ability to move through their environment, and also it
probably did not help make sure that there was enough
(18:53):
food for them. So you know, other animals suffered from
the rain as well.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Well. I want to ask you on the heels of
that then too. We've talked a lot about the different
natural aspects of the burrowing owl and their environment and
some of the challenges they face with other predators or
increase in raven population, et cetera. Now, with the rains,
of course changing the landscape with the plants, but I
want to kind of pull back a little bit and
could you share with us why is it important for
(19:20):
your work to continue? Why is the burrowing owl a
species that we as an organization in San Diegozo Wildlife
Alliance has teamed up with so many other organizations, whether
it's state, county or city, other nonprofits, etc. To make
sure we don't lose the species. Why is this so
important to us?
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Yeah, I think first and foremost is important because they're
a species that has lived here for millennia, that evolved here,
that is supposed to be here as part of our
natural heritage in North America. To have the species, they're
part of the natural landscape. And we talked a lot
about the whole community and the ecosystem earlier, and you
(19:59):
really don't know what the effects of taking one piece
out of an ecosystem is, and we're taking a lot
of pieces out of the ecosystems and not really knowing
what the ultimate effects are going to be. I think
it can be a little bit hard to say that
this species has this value, and I think we do
a disservice to our work into those animals to try
(20:20):
to kind of quantify their value. But I think that
because they're a part of our natural heritage, and they
are a species that has been declining for probably thirty
years at this point. That as an organization, we want
to maintain native species in their natural habitats, and this
goes across the world, not just here instead in California.
(20:43):
But I think we feel a special responsibility because they
are in our own backyard and they live in our
home state of California, and they have been declining for
quite a while, and they're also a quite visible, charismatic species,
and so it's I guess maybe easier to see that
they're declining because they used to be all over and
now they're not. And I've talked to a lot of
(21:04):
people that grew up here that can talk about remembering
seeing burrowing owls, you know, throughout Poway and Carlsbad and
these places that you would never expect to see them
anymore because they've been built and there's not these open
grasslands left. So California grasslands are an endangered habitat. And
then we have all these other species, including burrowing owls,
(21:26):
that are a piece of that puzzle. And there's interest
at the local conservation level with this species as well
among many others within the county of San Diego. We
have plans for trying to maintain native species and to
conserve our native habitats and native species. There's just a
lot of support within the conservation community to work with
(21:49):
this species and try to conserve them, along with a
number of other really amazing charismatic species that we work with,
like pocket mice and canary rats and desert cordas of
those guys.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Yeah, I think it's the fair to say that, like
many of the species we've had the opportunity to explore
and talk about on amazing wildlife, it's it's one of
those things where it's not just about the one individual species,
but when we focus on that one and all the
pieces they come in contact with and other pieces that
they rely on, it really paints that bigger picture than
of the value of the ecosystem, value of the species,
(22:22):
et cetera.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Right, And if we protect grasslands for burrowing owls, and
we also protect grasslands for Stevens kangaroo rat and California
ground squirrels and all the other different butterflies. Yeah, but yeah,
and the plants themselves and all these.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Other diversity, right, diverse.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
Exactly exactly, and having a biodiverse ecosystem helps us be
more resilient to things like climate change. So having that
much healthier ecosystem will help us ultimately as well.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Talking about the diversity reminds you that I want to
let the kids, that includes you guys, who we're all
connected here and you know we're working with collaborators locally
nationwide as well, but we're here in San Diego County.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
I love our hubs. By the way.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
We're all over the world, you guys, but as you know,
the Southwest, it's one of my absolute favorites. We have
so much unique wildlife right here in San Diego County.
And I've seen you out there doing your thing, doing
amazing work out there in areas like Hamul and Ramona
where I grew up.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
O Tai Mesa as well.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
And there was a recent story kind of a unique
predicament that happened out in O taime Asa.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Could you share with us a little what happened?
Speaker 4 (23:24):
Sure, because of all those rings earlier in the year,
the owls were having a lot of trouble finding food.
We have one area that was restored not just for
burrowing owls, but for native species that unfortunately the rains
really caused a lot of overgrowth of vegetation, and so
the owls at that site were really struggling this year.
And we had a couple of situations with two different
(23:48):
nests where one of the parents disappeared, and usually for
burrowing owls, they need both parents in order for the
juveniles to survive to fledging, and even if they make
it to fledging, there's no guarantees there. So like every
baby owl counts really in our book for trying to
conserve the species, and so working with our partners like
the Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of
(24:10):
Fishing Wildlife, we made the decision for these two nests
that when one of the parents disappeared, that we were
going to take the chicks to what we call head start,
so trying to ensure that they survive to adulthood and
then once they've made it to adulthood and they can
be put back into their natural environment, that they have
a much better chance of surviving and thriving and having
(24:33):
chicks of their own to continue on the generations. And
one of our big initiatives with our program is to
try to expand the burrowing all population in San Diego
County because we only had really one pretty small area
where the owls were breeding. And with the work of
our partners over the last dozen years, we've been working
(24:53):
toward trying to add areas where there are owls, add
owls to different places like Ramona where they have been
in the past and unfortunately they stopped being there because
of changes in the environment. And through the hard work
of a lot of our partners as far as habitat
management and trying to get the grasslands back to functioning
well and our own expertise with animal care and conservation breeding,
(25:18):
that we were able to do things like have a
conservation breeding program which also enables us to intervene with
these wild chicks so that we can do things like
head starting them. And so we made the decision, which
you know, we don't make it lightly, to bring these
guys in and make sure that they survive to adulthood
and then they'll go back out into those other areas.
(25:39):
Ramona are home mole in next year when they're adults,
so that they can meet other owls and owls do.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Yeah, that makes me what. So the different areas you're
talking about are separated by urban areas, So the O
time Mason population would not normally mix necessarily with the
Humble population or others, right, or do they travel that distance.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
They have the ability to. And we have seen some
movement between O Tai Mesa and Homol or I should
say the other way really from Homole to O taig
Casa and in some cases they go back to Homewold.
So those two sites definitely have some level of connectivity.
Ramona is not quite as well connected, and that's something
that as a larger group that trying to identify other
(26:22):
areas to enhance the population, to create this interconnected group
of owls. And I mean it's also I guess worth
mentioning that like, just because there's a boundary on a
map in our eyes does not mean that it exists
for the owls. And so the burrowing owls that we
have here also travel into northern Mexico, right, And so
they're kind of all interconnected, and so trying to make
(26:45):
sure that there are more owls out there to continue on.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
So yeah, and the reason I was asking is because
these chicks that were rescued, which I think is so cool.
It's so cool to be able to not just breed
them and put them out, you know, into their natural
environment than to allsco Await a minute, those I love
how you said every chick is important to us. Those
three are in danger of possible loss of life to
(27:08):
no fault of their own, but for the fault of
other situations coming into play. Some of them human influenced.
So therefore let's influence by taking them out, giving them
that head start. And so the reason I asked about
the movement between the different areas because you're choosing to
put them back though in a different area to help
with the genetics. Is that correct, right?
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Yeah, So they'll help us enhance the genetic diversity at
those other two smaller sites that we've been working on establishing.
When we're dealing with very small populations to begin with,
there are some limitations there with genetic diversity, and so
this also helps us. They can help contribute to their
species here by adding some more genetic diversity into those
(27:47):
smaller groups that we're trying to grow and that you know,
hopefully in ten or twenty years will be just as
big as the Chinese population.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Awesome, sounds like amazing work. I love it.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
And for guests, you know you visit us as Theafari
Park of the San Diegos. You look at these adorable
little burrowing owls at either Wildlife Explorers base camp or
at Condor Ridge, and you guys are a part of
that as well.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
And we also have a.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Burrowing ol cameraight so anyone around the world can log
in and see some of the amazing burrowing owls or
I think is a blast.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
Yeah, I don't know if there are any owls on
the camera.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
I checked it this morning.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
I didn't see any, but you'll see activity all throughout
the year, not only burrowingos of many other species. Also,
there's also a program I wanted to ask you really
quick where guests and the public can get involved in
these conservation efforts called wild Watch.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Can you can you talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Yeah, we have a project called wild Watch Burrowing Owl
that's part of the z Universe platform, which is a
web based citizen science program that allows anybody from anywhere
in the world to get involved with a lot of
different types of research. But with wild Watch Burrowing Owl specifically,
we use remote cameras at the burrow entrances to monitor
(28:51):
the nests and how many chicks and just what's happening
during the breeding season, and some of those photos we
put up onto wild Watch to have volunteers helped us
identify what's in the photo.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
I Actually the thing I like more about it is
that there's this amazing community that has grown up there
that interacts with each other and with us, asking us
questions and asking each other questions about what they're seeing
in the photos and why it's happening. And so you know,
we have people that consistently help out with that that
are from all over the world really and so it's
(29:24):
a really fun way for us to share what we
do but also share the magic of the species.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yeah, I know, agreed, it's so great.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
And also for the kids out they're not only wild Watch,
but sometimes we include that program in our Twitch channel,
so in case kids don't know, we have a Twitch
channel at San Diego Zoo and every now and again
we'll hit on the burrowing ows or other unique species too.
So a lot of ways to get involved in conservation.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
And I want to touch on the Wildwatch program too.
The value and that is that often I think Mark
when I have both experiences, when we go out to
the public and give talks or we might be doing presentation.
Is that sense of I want to get involved, but
I didn't take science classes, or I'm not a signcientist.
I'm not a conservationist. You know, I'm already doing this
job where I'm raising my kids, or my kids are interested,
(30:05):
but I don't know what to do. Anybody can be
a part of that Wild Batch program, and you are contributing.
It's making a difference for the researchers, and like you said,
there's a community in there. People can get more involved.
So kids, you'll need an adult to sign you up
and be part of it. But what a great way
to spend time with your parents and get them involved
in animals that you like and enjoy. What a great
(30:26):
way for parents to get their kids involved. Or if
you are retired, you can be anywhere. All you need
really is the internet access and you can go through
these images, which are so important because for one person,
one researcher, to go through all those thousands and thousands
of images would take forever a million, yeah, billions, okay,
But then the community doing it, you know, being involved
and being a part of this is so wonderful. It's
(30:48):
a great opportunity for those who believe there might be
some barrier for them to be part of something that
they actually can contribute in such a meaningful way. I
love that this program exists and it's still moving forward,
and it's so helpful to what the work you do.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
Yeah, and I can't overstate how I feel like it's
just magical to get to look through the photos. I
probably over use that word, but no.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
But you're right there. You see some of the cutest stuff.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
I've seen a burn out play with a little feather before,
or try to chase it a little bug, or like
you mentioned them, falling asleep in the middle of the
day and just h you see the cutest things out there.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (31:24):
And I don't know how many opportunities people have in
this like very busy society that we're a part of
to really attach themselves to something that is so different
from their normal day to day and to get to
have this like window into stuff that's still happening out there,
like wherever out there is, right, you know, but all
of the wildlife around us are just trying to survive
(31:46):
day to day, and we get this small little peak
into what that looks like for this one particular species
and I feel like it's really humbling, honestly, to see
they're just trying to survive, just like all the rest
of us are. And just the magic of what that
looks like and how they interact with each other and
how they interact with the environment around them, and to
have that secret peak, I guess then not everybody gets to.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Have your passion. Calleen is quite obvious, and it's infectious
and it's exciting, and I hope that our listening audience
will jump in and check out the wild Watch Burrowing
Owl program. And of course if there's any need to
want to be more involved, you can always go to
our website SDZWA dot org. But again calling, thank you
so much for your time today and sharing the story
of the burrowing owls with us.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
Thank you for having me, and I would be remiss
if I don't mention the amazing team that is also
a part of this, just that I'm representing here today,
So thank you for having me and us by extension.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Thank you for all the the geeks, burd Nerds, the Avengers.
I appreciate all of you, so thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Marco On behalf of all of us, non burd nerds.
I just want to say thank you for selecting burrowing
owls for this episode.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Oh man, it was my absolute pleasure and I love it.
And to be honest, if you were up to me,
we'd be doing the whole season on birds.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Oh. I don't doubt it. I know, I know.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
I love your.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Love for birds, and I love the passion and compassion
that we heard coming from Colleen about these little owls
that play such a big role in ecosystem. And again,
like we have been hearing from other conservationists this season,
it's a team of people working with other teams and partners,
all coming together to truly make these conservation efforts successful.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
I mean one might even say an alliance, maybe even
a wildlife alliance.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Yes, very good, Marco, a wildlife alliance.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Nicely, Thank you, sir, And if anyone listening wants to
join us and become an ally for wildlife, I encourage
you to go to our website SDZWA dot org to
find out more. You can explore our conservation efforts around
the world or.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Maybe even fine on right here in your own backyard.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
And speaking of conservation hubs around the world, it's time
for us to head down Under to start working on
another episode of Amazing Wildlife. Be sure to subscribe so
you don't miss our next episode in which Marco and
I explore the Australian Forest Hub talking about one of
our favorite tree dwelling Marsupials.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Now Marco Litt.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And I'm Rich Schwartz. Thanks for listening. For more information
about the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park,
go to SDZWA dot org. Amazing Wildlife is a production
of iHeartRadio's Ruby Studios. Our supervising producer is Nikiah Swinton
and our sound designer and editor is Sierra Spreen. For
(34:36):
more shows from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
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