Nathan accomplished this project with funding provided by the Kings County Fish & Wildlife Committee and with the assistance of personnel from the Boy Scouts of Troop 413, Oregon State University, and the United States Navy. Much gratitude is extended to these individuals and organizations.
The Burrows were constructed from plastic sprinkler control boxes and 4" drainage tubing. The tubing was placed into a hole cut into the side of the box. Approximately 5' of tubing was left on the outside of the box to act as a long curved entrance.
This photo shows Nathan next to one of the newly completed burrows. Notice the entrance that will be used by the birds to enter the burrow. They are relatively small owl with adults being only about 6" tall and have no trouble entering the small tube (this keeps them safe from cayotes and dogs).
Soil was hauled to the site in trucks and was applied to totally cover the box and tubing, other than the very end of the tube. This created an above ground burrow with a long, curved entrance tunnel. The site was then marked with a small post which also provides a suitable roost for the adult birds. This was an experimental design which had only limited success in other research projects.<
Several scouts helped with the project.
Drew, Kevin, Nathan, Brian
A total of 19 burrows were constructed by the team Nathan assembled in the fall of 1998. Most of the burrows were occupied by mating pairs within a month of construction!
In May of 1999 Nathan, Kevin, and Jenifer Gervais (a Bird Specialist form Oregon State University) started tagging the new young chicks which occupied the new burrows. To everyones suprise there was a large hatch of these new young birds. The average burrow contained over 6 young chicks!!! This young owl had just been banded by Nathan.
Nathan Backman
In addition to banding the young birds Nathan also was able to assist in putting radio transmitters on the largest of the chicks. This picture shows he and Kevin using the OSU mobile telemetry unit in May of 1999 to track the birds, wearing transmitters, around the Naval Air Station.
This project was much more successful than any of the people involved in the owl project had ever imagined. After only 7 months there were over 150 young Western Burrowing Owls residing in these 19 new dwellings.
The Western Burrowing Owl is not an endangered specie, however, it is considered threatened due to its small & dwindling population in North America and is being monitored by national organizations. Their foothold in Central California seems to have just improved,
significantly !
A 3 week old chick!
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Nathan BackmanEagle Scout
Scout Troop 413 - Hanford, California
Kings River District - Sequoia Council
2006 - completed BS in Computer Science at Whitworth College, Spokane , WA.
Fall 2006:starting Computer Science PhD program at Brown University, Providence, RI
