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<\/a><\/p>\nThis Antelope Island juvenile has been banded.\u00a0 It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find Burrowing Owls that haven’t been banded and there’s good reason for that.\u00a0 There has been an alarming decline in Burrowing Owl populations and the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the species as a National Bird of Conservation Concern in 2002.\u00a0 Many western states list them as Endangered, Threatened or Species of Special Concern.\u00a0 Mexico lists them as a Species of Special Protection.\u00a0\u00a0 Research that involves banding gives us information that can be used to better understand the forces leading to their decline and hopefully enable us to mitigate some of\u00a0those forces.<\/p>\n
However, in my opinion there’s a downside to all this banding and tagging of our wildlife\u00a0because it diminishes the wilderness aesthetic for many.\u00a0 It seems that everywhere I turn\u00a0birds are banded and mammals are ear-tagged or neck banded.\u00a0 In many cases it’s not because the species is threatened, it’s\u00a0simply a tool for big game management.\u00a0\u00a0 On Antelope Island alone\u00a0most Bison are tagged as are many Pronghorn and Bighorn Sheep.\u00a0 I’ve also seen and photographed tagged coyotes on the island.\u00a0\u00a0 Many of their songbirds such as Loggerhead Shrikes\u00a0have been banded for studies relating to the effects of mercury contamination.\u00a0 In 2013 alone, 70 Burrowing Owls were banded on\u00a0Antelope Island.\u00a0 In many of our “wild” areas across the country\u00a0it seems that there are more individuals of big game species (bears, bighorn, goats etc) that are tagged than are not.\u00a0 At times I almost get the feeling that I’m in a zoo instead of a wild place…<\/p>\n
It seems to me that some thought must be given to how far this banding and tagging should go.\u00a0 Are we prepared to have virtually every large wild\u00a0mammal tagged and a high percentage of our birds banded?\u00a0 If we are and the implications have been well-considered, then so be it.\u00a0 But if we aren’t we’d best start thinking about limits and\/or alternatives because we’re getting there fast.<\/p>\n
No, I don’t have any answers but I thought I’d raise a question that I’ve heard discussed privately many times but I’ve never seen any public discussion of the issue.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
Note:\u00a0 Please don’t think that because I raised the question I’d be willing to sacrifice the welfare of critters\u00a0for the sake of photographs without banded or tagged subjects.\u00a0 Nothing could be further from the truth.\u00a0 I actively support bird-banding groups like HawkWatch International, Great Salt Lake\u00a0Institute and others. \u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Burrowing Owls are among my favorite species to experience and photograph but in recent years some of the joy has been taken out of it.<\/p>\n
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![\"burrowing](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/burrowing-owl-6277-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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