Type: report

Article abstract: The primary goal of this project was to support the establishment of the first recovery node for BUOW in San Diego County to help lower the risk of extirpation. Our project focused on two main areas to achieve this goal: (1) extending conservation breeding; and (2) translocation of owls to RJER. The objective for the conservation breeding task was to conduct Years 2-3 of a short-term breeding program at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (SDZSP) and Living Coast Discovery Center (LCDC) to provide a source of owls for supplemental translocations. Owl groups produced from this effort were soft released to RJER (and eventually additional priority sites as identified by the interagency BUOW Partners Group). Success will be measured through established quantitative metrics of owl settlement, survival, and reproductive success gathered through post-release monitoring.