From St George News
Zion National Park's Mexican spotted owl population expects a boost when eggs hatch this month and nestlings arrive, National Park Service officials said.
“The owls mate for life, and this time of year, which is the breeding season, they’re producing anywhere from one to four eggs,” Zion National Park wildlife program manager Janice Stroud-Settles told St. George News. “They’ll incubate those eggs for about one month. And right in May, which is right about now, those eggs are going to hatch, and then they’ll have little nestlings which they’ll care for for about a month.”
That means that for the next few weeks, visitors might get a glimpse of Mexican spotted owl chicks — a rare opportunity, since there are only 15 monitored nesting sites in the park, according to park service officials.
“The whole park is critical habitat for spotted owls,” Stroud-Settles said. “Where they like to breed, though, is in our slot canyons, so this is where it’s nice and cool, there’s a lot of coverage, there’s a lot of trees, there’s a lot of prey species for them to eat there.”
Zion is home to many slot canyons, arguably the most famous being The Narrows, which hosts thousands of guests each day during the busy season. That much traffic has the potential to disturb the owls, Stroud-Settles said.
“You’re in their home, so try to be quiet around them. We’re active during the day when they’re trying to sleep,” Stroud-Settles said. “So I often tell people, please be quiet when you’re in a slot canyon, we have owls trying to sleep. If you keep waking them up, it’s causing them stress, and if they’re awake, it makes them more exposed to predators. So just be quiet and be respectful in the slot canyons.”
After a month of being in the nest, the quickly growing birds are ready to fly, Stroud-Settles said.
“They’ll fledge about mid-June, and that’s when it gets really fun for the parents because they are busy feeding them,” she said. “The chicks are often talking to them saying, ‘Feed me, feed me.' So, very busy time for the parents.”
Visitors at the park might see the adolescents learning to fly throughout the summer, but by September, they’re ready to try to find territory of their own. Some stay in the park, and some find homes in nearby areas, Stroud-Settles said.
Regardless of where they end up, seeing the owls at all is an uncommon opportunity, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
1 of 5 species in Zion listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, Mexican spotted owls have been classified as threatened since 1993. While rare, Stroud-Settles said, they are adorable.
“They’re super cute,” she said. “They are beautiful. They’re one of the few owl species that has brown eyes. When you see them, they have beautiful spots throughout their body and big brown eyes.”
Rangers continue to monitor all 15 Mexican spotted owl nests recorded in the park, and up-to-date information about the species can be found on the Zion National Park website.
