Burrowing owl Translocation, Site Fidelity, and Success in the Phoenix Valley

The Western Burrowing owl in Arizona is facing habitat destruction due to urbanization in the city of Phoenix. Wild at Heart, a raptor rehabilitation center, has a program to translocate burrowing owls away from dangerous urban areas. To understand translocation, we reviewed definitions of translocation success across articles of many taxa, analyzed environmental factors involving traffic and ambient sound levels, and conducted an experiment on owl site fidelity using visual conspecific cues. We found no unified definition of translocation success and that traffic and ambient sound levels did not affect burrowing owl occupancy. Additionally, owl pellets had no impact on owl visitation rates. More research is needed to understand the effects of animal translocation so that a stronger consensus can be drawn regarding what makes one successful.