Burying It

Burying It - Put it in a hole, under a mound or in between; just be sure to protect it from hazards above and below.

What strategy will work for your owls?
Background Check  By the time you get around to burying your burrows, you’ll already have gotten pretty good at looking at things from an owl’s eye view. You’ll be familiar with the Basics, have poured over the Checklist and wended your way through Burrows 101. For a great summary paper complete with all the nitty-gritty details click here.
Hole Depth  Decide whether you want to put the chambers in a mound, partly below the natural grade or bury them completely underground and if so, how deep. (Chambers with top access buckets should work great if the top of the soil-filled pot/bucket is about grade level and covered with a flat rock or sturdy stepping stone.) BuOws have successfully used all these alternatives, so pick what works for you. Arizona’s Wild at Heart is adept at winning the use of a backhoe or stalwart volunteers to dig holes four feet deep for their burrows. Check out the video in the center of this Arizona Game and Fish page to see how they manage such a feat. But keep in mind how much digging you’re willing to do to reach your chambers later for cleaning or banding!
Layout Read over the installation section of the summary paper. Plan to spend some time in quiet contemplation at your site long before the big day when you actually start digging, Invest in a few of those little colored flags beloved of sprinkler installers. Position your burrow components where you want them on the ground. Stand back and really LOOK at it. Do some fine-tuning. Your volunteers will be unenthusiastic (to say the least!) if you ask them to dig a hole for the same burrow twice. Flag it. Come back a time or two and see if it still makes sense to you. I like to bring a friend to spot things I’ve missed - the old two-heads-are-better method.
Soil Cover Here in Northern California, I like to cover nesting burrows with about a foot of soil. Burrows with insulated lids often have less. For top access designs, visualize reaching to the bottom of the burrow if you need to. Measure your arm! Check out what others in your area are doing and filter that through your common sense. I don’t recommend it, but I’ve seen BuOws living in irrigation-box chambers and tunnels that squirrels had partially exposed - as in I could see the black plastic and the hot sun was shining directly on it. You know you can do better than that. No BuOws live in burrows that never got out of the shop. Just take a deep breath and do it! If the digging seems daunting, ask for a hand. People love to help these little critters.
Soil Type & Moisture  Factor in the soil on your site. Even a short distance can make a difference. Holes in heavy clay make better bathtubs than burrows unless you get very little rain. Digging is vastly easier if your soil is at the Goldilocks point of not too wet and not too dry. Put a little flex in your plans to allow for the vagaries of the weather.
Timing  Planning ahead pays off. I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy rushing a job. Take your time and/or let more diggers share the fun if that’s appealing to you. If you’re lucky enough to have BuOws nearby, schedule your installation when you won’t be disturbing them during nesting. It’s not only polite; it’s the law. In California, aim to keep a discreet distance (50 meters) from February 1st to September 1st. Your local wildlife folk should have the dates for your area. Be prepared for inspectors!
Remember, it’s not brain surgery!  It’s pretty basic stuff. Feel free to use your own creativity to come up with solutions others haven’t tried or click on the info buttons in the Checklist for ideas. The List:
You don’t want the owls to be dug out by or unnecessarily exposed to predators.
You don’t want their burrows flooded while they’re living in them.
You don’t want their burrows crushed or rearranged by curious cattle.
You don’t want their burrows filled with dirt by gophers, squirrels and other   diggers or blocked by dirt washed into the tunnels during storms.
Suit Yourself Perhaps it would be simpler if there were some cookie-cutter pattern that fit every installation, but there doesn’t seem to be any such animal. Each location needs its own “owl’s eye” survey. But if you consider these owls’ astonishing adaptability, you’ll soon realize that there’s ample room to give some weight to your own priorities and resources. As in any real estate, location, location and location are the three most important factors to your buyers. If you get that right, you have a lot of leeway on the rest. (Check out the Gallery if you need evidence.) I’m sure you’ve already vetted your site with the Checklist. Now, it makes sense to ask:
What strategy works for you?
Finding a combination that fits both you & your owls is the goal

BOCS volunteers routinely work miracles  using only hand tools.

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