Scott Rashid climbed up a ladder and peered into a nesting box placed on the side of a barn in south Loveland. He called down to other volunteers with his nonprofit and to city of Loveland employees.
There was one baby owl inside, all that was left from a clutch of four, and the mother barn owl.
A dozen people gathered Saturday to watch Rashid place a numbered leg band on the baby owl, part of a barn owl project he launched in 2014 to give these owls a place to nest and to study their patterns.
“I noticed barn owl numbers were becoming lower and the birds were becoming hard to find,” said Rashid, who lives in Estes Park.
“I knew if I put up shelters for them and they showed up, then all they needed was a place to live.”
Barn owls nest in old wooden barns and silos as well as other enclosed areas, and these spaces were becoming more and more scarce, replaced by urban neighborhoods and metal barns and sheds. So, Rashid decided to place nesting boxes in areas that would be great owl habitat and see if it helped.
The first year, he placed 10 boxes in Larimer County and Southern Boulder County. That year, owls nested in two boxes and raised seven babies.
This year, there are 19 boxes spread out from Lafayette to Fort Collins. Owls are nesting in seven and raising 29 babies. (The Lafayette box has a live nest camera that can be viewed on the CARRI website.)
One of those boxes is on a city open land property in Loveland. Officials are not saying exactly where because the land is closed to the public, and they do not want people scaring the owls.
But the surrounding land is full of native grasses that have not been mowed or harvested, prime habitat for the mice, voles and rabbits the owls hunt. Large trees dot the landscape nearby for the male owl to have a place to roost during the day before his nighttime hunting adventures.
And it is away from any main thoroughfare to protect the owls from traffic as they hunt low to the ground.
“The habitat here was ideal, but there was no place for them to live,” said Rashid.
The nest box changed that and gave the birds a safe place to mate and raise their family.
Owls can lay two separate sets of eggs, called clutches, in the same year, the second coming shortly after the first litter of young owls leaves the nest. The eggs are laid up to three days apart, and owls can lay as many as 10 eggs in one clutch.
The male owl does all the hunting for his mate and babies, bringing back food each night.
Rashid and other volunteers with CARRI monitor the owls by checking the nest boxes, by watching some on live camera feed and by placing bands on their legs so they can see from year to year if the owls return or where they travel.
Since the first boxes were placed in 2014, owls have been in several each year, but until this year, they were all different birds. This is the first time one returned to the same box.
These details, as well as a look at what the birds are eating and how they are surviving, help researchers understand the species and their needs in hopes of helping them thrive.
“I’m doing this for the birds,” said Rashid.
As he handled the female owl, Rashid’s demeanor helped keep her calm as did rubbing the feathers right above her beak. She had been banded in June.
The younger owl emitted swooshing hisses, but then calmed down when Rashid covered its face with a towel. After they were banded, both seemed pleased to be returned to a clean, safe nest box.
“This was amazing,” said Wellington resident Cameron Shinn, who watched with his family. “It’s incredible
Pamela Johnson: 970-699-5405, johnsonp@reporter-herald.com, www.twitter.com/RHPamelaJ.
