Why Burrowing Owls are Losing Their Burrows

What the film says

1. Burrowing owls line their burrows with dung, which is thought to attract the insects they eat.

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2. The Salton Sea is California's largest lake, and its shrinking shoreline releases toxic dust.

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3. The Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge sits at the southern end of the Salton Sea, in the Imperial Valley, and hosts burrowing owls.

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4. The Imperial Valley is California's burrowing-owl stronghold.

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5. In March 2024 seven conservation groups petitioned for endangered or threatened status for imperiled California burrowing-owl populations.

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6. In late 2024 California gave burrowing owls interim protection as a candidate species.

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7. Burrowing owls are close to local extinction in the Bay Area.

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8. Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are active during the day, at least in the breeding season.

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9. Burrowing owls nest underground, usually in burrows dug by other animals such as ground squirrels, badgers and prairie dogs.

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