Welcome to Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC
What we are up to:
The Western Burrowing Owl, Athene cunicularia hypugaea, is a species at risk in Canada and was extirpated from British Columbia (BC) in the 1980s. To reestablish a population in BC a group of volunteers spearheaded by Mike Mackintosh in the early 1990s became the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of British Columbia (BOCSBC) which instituted a re-introduction program involving three captive breeding facilities, creation of artificial nesting burrows, and the release and monitoring of captive-raised birds. Approximately 100 owls are bred each year for release in the grasslands of the Thompson-Nicola and South Okanagan of BC. Over 1200 burrows have been placed on privately owned ranch lands, provincial land, and non-government conservation properties since 1992. Release techniques have been developed that have increased adult survival rates by 50% and produced increased numbers of wild-hatched offspring to fledging by 50%. The Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of British Columbia has had the longest-running breeding and release program of Burrowing Owls in the world.
Increased production has increased the number of birds returning to nest from 2015 to 2017, resulting in a 50% increase from previous years. However, the goal of achieving a self-sustaining population has not yet been reached, as the population crashed again after 2018. By delving into our return rate, habitat quality, migration, climate change, and more we can start to investigate further steps needed for BUOW repopulation throughout North America. Currently, we are engaging in a tri-national study on the migration habits of the Western Burrowing Owl with GPS transmitters. This can lead to further protection of their migration pathways to and from their breeding habitats.
Our objectives:
Our goal is to have a self-sustaining population of Burrowing Owls in the grasslands of British Columbia. This is achieved by on-the-ground conservation with local landowners and outreach and education on the importance of grassland biodiversity.
This program is mainly based on volunteer collaboration. We have 3 breeding facilities and one of them is managed by the BC Wildlife Park which contributes their staff and money to maintaining that facility.
Program Leaders:
Mike Mackintosh - President/Founder
Lauren Meads - Executive Director
Contact Us:
bocsbc@gmail.com