Burrowing Owl Relocation

Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) are small, highly social, diurnal (active during the daytime) birds that live in the abandoned burrows of ground squirrels and other mammals. 

Once common in the Phoenix Valley, these birds are disappearing rapidly due to development. Fortunately, the birds can be trapped and successfully relocated to safe sites—but these sites are becoming increasingly rare. 

In partnership with  Wild at Heart, an Arizona-based raptor rehabilitation center, Audubon Southwest recruits and deploys volunteers to help create habitat throughout sites Valley-wide. Volunteers build artificial burrows, construct temporary holding tents, and visit the release sites to provide supplement food. Thousands of volunteers have participated, and more than a thousand owls have been re-homed.