So, what happened on Day Two of Meadowlark?

Again there were two events, morning and evening…
Morning — The Burrowing Owl Story
This was a fascinating trip from beginning to end. It was well organized with a sharp guide that had us on time from the get-go. We drove to a somewhat remote location, about 100 metres from the USA border. (Sidebar: the difference in border crossing facilities was so typical — Canada’s a small white house from at least the fifties but with power lines coming to it; the American’s was a huge facility, complete with trucks and a drive-through shed to fully investigate any semi that should happen by — it also appeared that electrical power came from Canada when the solar panels and wind turbines that were on site did not provide sufficient juice.)

The expert who was with us had already phoned the US Border Patrol so they wouldn’t get nervous. We then parked just inside a rancher’s gate and hiked perhaps 200 metres while the expert explained the Burrowing Owl “recovery program”. Then she showed us one of the artificial dens that they have created. They use a 15-cm wide flex-pipe that they place about a metre into the ground…one end comes straight up and has sufficient space for a nest at the bottom. There are a couple of lids placed on this and then a heavy rock on top of it all to make sure no animal can intentionally or accidentally dislodge it all. The other end comes out of the ground on a gently sloping angle in a somewhat concealed location, often with rocks around it. This is the entrance to the burrow. It all is rather fascinating in both its simplicity and its protective aspects.

As we were finishing this part of the explanation, she suddenly told us to be very quiet. She then began to lead us to a second burrow, all the while pointing out in the distance a tiny speck on a rock outcropping. The closer we got, the more evident it was — an actual burrowing owl. It obviously was watching us too — very alert, it seldom took its eyes off our group. It allowed us to within maybe 25 metres, then it was gone. Before moving on though, the expert took some frozen day-old chicks from a bag and threw them into the burrow. Because of the need to ensure sufficient food during the days around the hatching of the young chicks, the program supplements the hunting process.

As we started to hike to another burrow, the expert then pointed to a bush about 100 metres away. Suddenly a bird began to fly — another burrowing owl. It was amazing, in part because I didn’t think they flew much and secondly it flew to a significant height from the ground. After this demonstration, we got to the burrow and the expert opened the nest end to reveal about ten eggs. She checked and they were all warm so she knew the mother was in the tunnel. After some quick pictures, she replaced the lids and rock and then went to the entrance to throw in several frozen chicks (these are all males — after one day they can tell if a chick is male or female and for those farmers in the egg business, males are not useful and so they sell them to such programs for a small fee).

As we were headed to the last burrow, we were treated to a song, dance and flight of a curlew. It has a very distinctive sound (I had first seen and heard this type of bird as a child on the prairies near Bassano Alberta). It also has a very interesting flight pattern — almost like a CF-18 fighter jet. It definitely was trying to lead us away from the nest, which we never came across.

When we arrived at the cars, the expert then took a young burrowing owl from a cage and tethered it on her wrist. We learned that these owls are born in succession and so the last bird or two often has a very slim chance of survival because by the time it is born, the others have learned to eat and fight for more food — the last ones have a really tough time getting to the trough. So the program has been taking some of these and keeping them in their recovery centre until they gain sufficient strength and wisdom to survive on their own. The bird on her wrist was one of these — it is an education bird, called Pluto. It gave us an opportunity to see a burrowing owl up close and observe its sharp talons and very observant eyes. We received a real lesson on this latter attribute when suddenly the bird looked up and became very agitated. As we turned our own gazes upward we learned why — an eagle was circling. The owl then looked at the expert as if to say, “OK, this lesson is over; let’s get me back in the cage a.s.a.p.!!”

The lecture did end shortly thereafter and we all climbed into our cars and headed back to Osoyoos. As we were about to leave we were instructed to go on to the Burrowing Owl Winery as they are huge sponsors of the Burrowing Owl Recovery Program, and host the recovery centre. We did just that and had an opportunity to thank the winery for their part in the project. All the money they receive from the “tastings” goes into the support fund and by the end of this year they will have raised over one million dollars. The Wyse Family are deserving of an Order of Canada for their efforts.

We then were led to an old-fashioned sitting room at the end of the hall in the suites section of the winery. There we were introduced to five different kinds of wine from the Burrowing Owl collection. Following this we were given a tour into the depths of the winery (it goes down three stories into the ground). This was a thoroughly delightful way to end the journey — more explanations about the program while sipping very tasty products of the Burrowing Owl Winery. If you ever get the chance, take this tour — the stomping around a pasture is a memorable moment and the concluding time at the winery makes it even more special!!

Evening — Bats in the southern part of the valley
Because of my interest in setting up a bat house near the cottage by the creek, I decided to take in a second event focusing on bats. This one was at Vaseux Lake. Same expert, different guides, but very well organized. We saw where they trap some bats for study and we saw locations where they live in the wild. The best part though was a slide show made possible by a portable generator that provided sufficient electricity to give us over 1/2 hour of interesting pictures and notes. The expert gave us some repeat knowledge from the previous evening, but there was enough new stuff to make the evening more than worthwhile. More can be found at bcbats.com should you be interested.

There was also a time set aside to help trap some bats, but I passed on that. The day had been special enough and by this time I was almost on information overload. No disappointment on this day at all.

g.w.