Burrowing Owl - Palo Verde Valley [ds197]

The purpose of this gathering of burrowing owl observations was to document the potential number of burrowing owls occurring in the Palo Verde Valley. It was hoped that the numbers and distribution of the burrowing owls could be used in future evaluations of the species. DATA ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS * This was NOT a survey that had planned routes and timing of surveys. It was intended as a serendipitous method to arrive at a minimum number of owl sites. * Over a breeding season, one burrowing owl roost/nest site could be distinguished from a neighboring site. * Mileage (often interpreted to the 0.01 mi) gathered from a vehicle could be used to differentiate one roost/nest site from another. * Observation of a single owl once would indicate a unique roost/nest site.

These burrowing owl observations were collected during the spring and early summer of 1976 in the Palo Verde Valley, eastern Riverside County, California. This is an agricultural area along the Colorado River where irrigated alfalfa was a very common crop and was grown year-round. Water supply canals were common, often elevated, and with dirt berms and roads flanking them. This micro topographical feature was used extensively by burrowing owls for roosts and burrows. Surveys were not specifically planned, but the observer tried to drive various routes through the Palo Verde Valley when on the way to perform other work tasks. Almost 80% of the observations were made before 0900 or after 1500. Observations were visual and made by the driver looking for burrowing owls while the vehicle was moving. If a burrowing owl was seen it represented a site. This site was determined to be new or currently known by the presence of another burrowing owl(s) observed at the time of the observation or if one had been seen in the past, and by the distance between the current owls or the current owl observation and a previous observation. Observations were recorded on a tape recorder with the date and time, number of owls seen, presence of an easily observable burrow entrance, and the location using the distance and direction from road and canal junctions noted. Data was taken from the tape recorder and put on paper at intervals ranging from once a week to once a month.

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Any use of this information should be properly cited, giving credit to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.