It is important to remember that Burrowing Owls are winter residents in Lubbock
County. Many guide books do not illustrate this key fact. If the city consulted
a company that was unfamiliar with the winter population of Burrowing Owl in
Lubbock, they may advise that gassing prairie dogs in the winter would not
violate MBTA.
Cameron Carver
Lakewood, CO
Sent from my iPhone
On Feb 11, 2018, at 21:47, Jennifer Miller <foundnatureblog@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
With spring coming soon and in light of Glenda’s recent email, I thought it
would be useful to have this info on hand again. I have included an email
with some info from a couple of years ago. In case you do witness an
eradication where there are Burrowing Owls, it contains the contact info for
the Game Wardens and USFW.
Contact info for the City of Lubbock is:
Stewart Gerhart with Lubbock Parks & Recreation (Park Maintenance -
806-775-3664)
If Burrowing Owls are present, it is important to try to know exactly where
on the property they have most recently been seen in order to save them or
prove their extermination.
If anyone finds out that this info has changed, please let everyone know.
Thanks,
Jennifer
Jennifer Miller
Lubbock, TX
{o,o}
/)_)
" "
Email: FoundNatureBlog@xxxxxxxxx
Blog: https://foundnature.weebly.com/index.html
Begin forwarded message:
From: Jennifer Miller <foundnatureblog@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: May 6, 2016 at 5:08:35 PM CDT
To: "leasbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <leasbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Burrowing Owl Request
Hi Everyone,
I have been noticing more Burrowing Owls than usual as I have birded in
Lubbock and Levelland over the past few weeks. After conversations with
others, it appears as though this may be a good nesting season for them,
thanks to the rain that we received this and last year. We are at the
beginning of their nesting season and I would like to ask everyone to please
keep an eye on the Burrowing Owls that you may drive by or see on a regular
basis this summer. They nest and fledge their young from March through
October. If disturbed during this time, males will remain above ground or
fly while females and nestlings will duck back down into their burrows. This
makes the females and young extremely vulnerable to prairie dog
exterminations during this time. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits
disturbance to their nests and to do so carries legal repercussions.
Concerned about prairie dog encroachment on the baseball field at McAlister
Park, I contacted Lubbock Parks and Recreation to ensure that there were no
plans to exterminate the prairie dogs, and with them the Burrowing Owls.
They informed me that they generally cannot poison prairie dogs after March
1st due to the Burrowing Owl's breeding season, but I still think that it is
important to keep an eye on them during this critical time. If the city
knows that we are watching, hopefully they will adhere to the regulations
prohibiting interference with nesting as outlined by the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act.
If you see disturbance on private or public land occupied by Burrowing Owls
from March through October, please inform the authorities below. Disturbance
includes poisoning, preparation for building, soil compaction, etc. If any
of these occur, it will be important to have a good idea about the location
of the burrows that the owls were using in order to try to save the
Burrowing Owls or prove that they were exterminated.
Texas Game Wardens:
Shannon Chambliss
806-761-4930
Shannon.Chambliss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mallory Mitchell (after August)
806-761-4930
Mallory.Mitchell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Special Agent:
Russell Carter
806-472-7273
I would love to see twice as many Burrowing Owls next year if they can have
a successful nesting season this year! Please let me know if you have any
questions and I will do my best to track down the answers.
Thanks,
Jennifer
--
Jennifer Miller
Lubbock, TX
{o,o}
/)_)
" "
Blog - http://foundnature.weebly.com/index.html
