Arizona Game and Fish begins efforts to save pygmy owls from drought

Because of tough drought conditions and past problems with the survival of young pygmy owls in Arizona during the summer, the Arizona Game and Fish Department is taking action to protect the future of the species in our state.

“We’ve seen and documented the deaths of several pygmy owl fledglings in the Arizona heat during each of the past three years, a period of extended drought,” says Jim deVos, head of the Arizona Game and Fish Department research branch. “Therefore, we want to bring several juvenile owls out of the wild into a captive environment, where they can be better protected.”

Researchers have found very few nesting pairs of pygmy owls in southern Arizona in the past few years, and most of their young died within the first year of life. In response, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state’s Pygmy Owl Recovery Team have been working for the past three years to develop a plan identifying actions to boost the population of pygmy owls in our state. The Arizona Game and Fish Department developed a detailed proposal for rescuing juvenile pygmy owls based on the actions outlined in the plan.

“Bringing some of these pygmy owls together in the same place would allow us to monitor them and ensure, to the extent possible, their survival,” says deVos. “This will also allow us to work with interested parties to implement long-term strategies to enhance conservation of this unique desert-dwelling bird.”

The pygmy owl was recently taken off the endangered species list. The little bird is 6 to 7 inches tall and weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. The pygmy owl is an important part of our desert environment, nesting primarily in woodpecker holes in saguaro cacti. That’s why the bird’s full name is the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl. Populations of this owl live in Texas and Mexico, in addition to southern Arizona.