HERMISTON — Sixteen years after the burrowing owl population in Umatilla County bottomed out at only four nesting pairs, the population has hit a new high.
The 2024 nesting season has seen 100 nesting pairs, compared to the previous high of 65 pairs and an average of 54 pairs over the last 10 years.
Burrowing owls are most active just before sunset, during the night, and just after sunrise. These small owls weigh about six ounces.
Don Gillis holds a young burrowing owl May 20, 2009, just a year into the project that has revitalized Umatilla County’s burrowing owl population.
A group of five-day-old burrowing owls May 25, 2024, gather inside their artificial nest on the National Guard grounds near Hermiston. Researchers keep track of the number of hatchlings each season, and have done so for about 16 years.
David Johnson, right, and Anahi Formoso check on the hatchlings May 25, 2024, at an artificial burrowing owl nest on the National Guard grounds near Hermiston.
David Johnson pulls weeds May 25, 2024, around the marker for a burrowing owl artificial nest site on the National Guard grounds near Hermiston.
Young burrowing owls stand outside the entrance to a tunnel. Their parents keep a close eye on them in the early parts of their life so they aren’t eaten by predators.
The entrance of an artificial burrowing owl nest May 25, 2024, on the National Guard grounds near Hermiston, is littered with what researchers call decoration. Male burrowing owls decorate their tunnel entrances with bits of animal scat, food parts and other small items.
A female burrowing owl stands beside her clutch of eggs May 7, 2016, inside an artificial nest built as part of David Johnson’s research near Hermiston.
David Johnson selects burrowing owl artificial nesting sites to visit May 25, 2024, on the National Guard grounds near Hermiston.
David Johnson counts the number of unhatched eggs May 25, 2024, in a burrowing owl artificial nest on the National Guard grounds near Hermiston.
David Johnson and Anahi Formoso check an artificial burrowing owl nest May 25, 2024, on the National Guard grounds near Hermiston, to see how many young have already hatched.
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