The Wake-up Call: Burrowing Owl

The Warblers by Birds Canada

Burrowing Owls...those weird little owls that nest underground, and scowl disapprovingly at us with their bright yellow eyes. This episode is for them! We've invited Graham Dixon-MacCallum from the Wilder Institute to share quirky facts about this captivating species, help us understand why they're threatened, and learn more about a few of the conservation tools being used to help.
As promised, here are some pointers for photographing owls without causing them harm.
Check out these many great organizations working to help Burrowing Owls in Canada!

• Manitoba Burrowing Owl Recovery Program
• Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Center in Moose Jaw
• Operation Burrowing Owl ran by Nature Saskatchewan
• Grasslands National Park and Parks Canada
• Operation Grassland Community in Alberta
• Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC

Graham Dixon-MacCallum leads the burrowing owl project at the Wilder Institute. His job requires coordinating with the federal and provincial governments, local ranchers, soldiers, graduate students, and multiple departments across the Wilder Institute. Aside from his work with burrowing owls, Graham has also studied anti-predator behavior in the conservation breeding population of Vancouver Island marmots at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. Graham has worked on a wide variety of species across Canada, and in Costa Rica, Peru, and Gabon.
Andrea Gress (she/her) secretly thinks Piping Plovers are better than all the other birds...studied Renewable Resource Management at the University of Saskatchewan. She pivoted towards birds, after an internship in South Africa. Upon returning, she worked with Piping Plovers in Saskatchewan and now coordinates the Ontario Piping Plover Program for Birds Canada.
This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change is supported by funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada. The views expressed herein are solely those of Birds Canada.