Burrowing owl nest site use and productivity on prairie dog colonies in the Southern High Plains of Texas

Large numbers of burrowing owls nest in the Texas Panhandle, yet very little is known of their breeding ecology in the region. For this study we measured abundance of burrowing owls and attempted to assess the number of resident verses migrant burrowing owls through color banding and the monitoring of marked individuals, at a sample of study areas in the Texas Panhandle. Burrowing owl productivity and prairie dog colony parameters that could influence burrowing owl nest selection and success were also measured. The majority of burrowing owls in our area are breeding season migrants. Noose carpet and Bal-Chatri traps were the most effective trapping methods during the breeding season. Number of breeding burrowing owl pairs was positively correlated to colony area (r2 = 0.5498, P = 0.0060), and to number of prairie dog holes in a colony (r2 = 0.7327, P = 0.0296). Our measures of vegetative composition and structure were not related to burrowing owl numbers or productivity.