Burrowing Owl Distribution Sample Clauses

Burrowing Owl Distribution. The historical breeding range of the burrowing owl includes portions of southwestern Canada south through the non-forested portions of the western United States (as far east as western Minnesota) and into central Mexico. The breeding range has contracted primarily on the eastern and northern edges, particularly in Manitoba, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Burrowing owls generally winter from Mexico to El Salvador, but have been noted in lesser abundance in Arizona, California, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas. Wyoming forms part of the core of the burrowing owl’s breeding range, with owls widespread in grassland and shrub-steppe habitats and often associated with prairie dog colonies141. In Wyoming, burrowing owls are at highest concentrations in the south and east, although the species has been documented in all of the State’s latilongs, with confirmed or probable breeding in 24 of the 28 latilongs142. However, the Thunder Basin National Grasslands had a relatively low percentage of black-tailed prairie dog colonies occupied by burrowing owls during surveys conducted during 1998, with only 16 percent occupied as compared to 55 percent occupied across all national grasslands included in the study143. The Breeding Bird Survey detected significant declines of burrowing owls in Wyoming during 1966-2002; however, these data are uncertain given weaknesses in the BBS in monitoring species that occur at low densities, such as the burrowing owl144.