From Deseret News archives:
Boise scientist calls deaths of barn owls along freeway alarming
"I don't have enough information to predict the viability of the species," Jim Belthoff told The Times-News. "But the mere fact that cars are killing this many animals from one species is alarming."
Belthoff expects to publish a study of the issue later this year.
For 2 1/2 years, Belthoff and graduate student Than Boves have twice a month driven the southern Idaho highway between Boise and Burley collecting animals killed by vehicles.
They found 2,518 dead animals, with 800 of those being barn owls, the most common dead animal found in the study. The next most common were skunks, which tallied 223.
Justin Barrett, a wildlife biologist with the Jerome field office of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said his office began seeing more dead owls along the highway beginning four years ago.
"It could be changes in agricultural practices combined with prey distribution, but we don't really know why it's happening," Barrett said.
Neither does Belthoff, though he has some theories.
Most of the dead owls found during the collection process were young, and Belthoff said the young owls could be getting hit at a higher rate than more experienced owls. He also said barn owls tend to hunt for small mammals such as mice by swooping low, increasing the potential for collisions with vehicles.
Another theory is that pesticides from nearby fields could be making the birds sick and
Belthoff said the barn owl population in the area is unknown because the birds are nocturnal and difficult to spot.
To bolster the population, though, the Idaho Transportation Department has supplied money that Belthoff and Boves are using to give away barn owl nesting boxes.
If more money becomes available, they plan to begin experiments to see if there is some way to prevent so many barn owls from being hit.
Information from: The Times-News, www.magicvalley.com
