Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration

Regionally threatened Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) rely on open habitats with suitable burrows and prey. Dangermond Preserve is potentially the best remaining example of this in Santa Barbara County, and understanding owl diets and their spatial variation can guide targeted habitat management to support owl populations. We expected Burrowing Owl diets at this preserve to have a lower proportion of invertebrate prey compared to previously documented diets at a smaller recently disturbed restoration site. We analyzed the contents of 25 intact owl pellets collected from mapped burrows and determined the minimum number of individual prey based on vertebrate and invertebrate remains. Results show earwigs; ground beetles; California voles; and grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets occurring in the majority of pellets, and proportions across the sites indicate less of a reliance on invertebrate prey in Dangermond than the smaller restoration site. With these diverse prey, we can understand the effects a less overturned site may have on burrowing owls' diets, therefore informing restoration decisions going forward.

This poster was presented at the 2026 UCSB Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Poster Colloquium on 13 May, 2026.