Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By Dylana Milobar

UPPER NICOLA BAND OWLS

Endangered owls burrow into grasslands of Upper Nicola Band

Jul 4, 2019 | 4:48 PM

KAMLOOPS — Five burrowing owls were brought to the Upper Nicola Band reserve today to begin their new lives in the wild.

The endangered owls have limited spots to live, as grasslands are commonly developed in the Southern Interior for housing, and other projects.

Boosting the burrowing owl population in the Douglas Lake grasslands is a labour of love for volunteers, biologists, and Upper Nicola Band members.

The site’s field consultants, Loretta Holmes and Dawn Brodie spend quite a bit of time caring for the project.

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“We take turns. We take good notes, we check nests together, and we do the banding together, and it’s just been wonderful,” Brodie says. “So we look at this as our office.”

Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

Since 2015, the area on the Upper Nicola Band’s reserve has been used to reintroduce a dwindling burrowing owl species.

The project’s lead biologist, Chris Gill, says the program has flourished in the grasslands.

“Right now, burrowing owls have been extirpated from B.C. In other words, they don’t exist in the wild without reintroduction programs such as the one that the Upper Nicola Band is doing,” Gill explains. “So it’s important to have these to develop a population within B.C.”

Four years ago, teams installed artificial burrows for the owls. As of last year, the Upper Nicola Band site was home to about nine per cent of the province’s wild burrowing owl species.

“There’s three nests. Which means 21 offspring,” Brodie says. “That is worthy of of a celebration, and you can see these are high quality grasslands — there’s a lot of food for the owls.”

Volunteers banded multiple owls today to track population growth after the birds are introduced to the area.

Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

“I think we’re at 51 owls now that have been raised at the site, and released,” Gill notes. “Some have actually come back and bred here, so that again indicates the healthiness of the site that they have.”

Throughout the years, the site has been managed by volunteers, and largely funded by the Upper Nicola Band, and federal grants.

Councillor Brian Holmes says the undertaking is part of the band’s responsibility to the area’s animals, and lands.

“It’s been great to support it. I’ve been up here myself a few times to help do some of the work, and it’s great getting out here just to do it.”

With the backing of the band, the plan is to keep pushing for funding to grow the program each year.

“I kind of envisioned having a whole area with burrowing owls,” Holmes says, “There’s lots of areas to expand this program but you can only do so much with so much.”

Between a dedicated research team and local school groups taking part in site care, the burrowing owls won’t be forgotten anytime soon.