After close to 50 years on California’s Species of Special Concern list, the burrowing owl — a victim of urbanization and habitat destruction across the San Francisco Bay Area and parts of Mexico and Canada — has begun to make a spectacular comeback.
According to the San Mateo Daily Journal, these owls are the only species of their kind to construct nests on the ground, which means they have been disproportionately affected by human activity in the region.
“They’re very unique, and they are dependent on other animals to dig the burrow,” explained Edmund Sullivan of the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency, per the publication.
Fortunately, a partnership between the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority and the Peninsula Open Space Trust has worked to fortify prey squirrel populations in the area and to artificially fashion burrows into the land to support owl nesting…