More about burrowing owls . . .

I spent a few hours on Saturday morning helping to install 100 artificial burrows for burrowing owls at Zanjero Park in Gilbert, AZ. In January, about 40 owls will move in. The burrows are nifty -- they're made out of hardware-store material like 5-gallon buckets, PVC pipe, zip ties, and drainage tubing. The Arizona Republic has a pretty good article about the project. While I was working there, I wondered how the owls would be persuaded to live in their new burrows -- do you just fold their wings in and pop them down the tubes? Actually . . . no. The owls live under little tents mounted over the burrows for about six weeks (volunteers feed them during this time). So I guess the owls just kind of get used to their new location and make themselves at home after a while.