Thirty-six owl chicks hatched beneath an Arizona solar power plant.<\/p>\n
No one ever intended the site to become an owl nursery<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The facility was built to generate electricity across a vast stretch of desert outside Phoenix. Instead, it became the setting for an unusual burrowing owl experiment.<\/p>\n Workers even installed lights to attract insects<\/strong> at the site.<\/p>\n The project eventually produced an unexpected outcome. Why would a large solar farm become home to dozens of baby burrowing owls?<\/p>\n The Burrowing Owl faces significant challenges throughout the American West<\/strong>. Most owls build nests above ground.<\/p>\n Burrowing owls use burrows originally created by other animals for nesting and shelter. These locations have been lost through urbanization, agricultural expansion, and habitat fragmentation.<\/p>\n The species has declined in the United States and is considered<\/strong> a conservation concern.<\/p>\n Arizona-based conservation organizations regularly move entire owl colonies to prevent loss due to urban development. In 2025, such action was taken when a housing development threatened a long-established owl colony.<\/p>\n There were nine owl pairs plus a lone male<\/strong> who required a new home.<\/p>\n Conservationists searching for alternative relocation sites encountered another challenge.<\/p>\n Agricultural lands previously used for relocations<\/strong> were either being developed or rapidly disappearing.<\/p>\n That’s when they found what initially appeared to be an unlikely solution: a solar farm.<\/p>\n Sun Streams Solar Complex (Longroad Energy), located west of Phoenix, is composed of thousands of acres of desert terrain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Wildlife surveys conducted during planning phases for the facility revealed the presence of burrowing owls within the area.<\/p>\n The facility stretches across a broad desert landscape suited to large-scale solar development. The discovery created an opportunity to <\/span>test wildlife conservation alongside renewable energy<\/a> production.<\/span><\/p>\n That discovery led to a partnership between Wild at Heart and Longroad Energy.<\/p>\n Would displaced burrowing owls be able to produce offspring while inhabiting massive-scale solar facilities<\/strong>?<\/p>\n Artificial underground burrows were installed across the property.<\/p>\n The <\/span>relocated owls were then moved into<\/strong> these new burrows and monitored closely<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n Cameras recorded the owls continuously. Thawed mice were provided by facility staff until the owls adapted to their new residence.<\/span><\/p>\n Lights were also installed to attract insects to the site<\/strong>. These insects served as additional possible prey for the owls.<\/p>\n The effort drew attention from conservation groups, including the National Audubon Society<\/a>. Within weeks, evidence of the project’s success emerged.<\/p>\n Success was achieved, but answers were not immediate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Conservationists monitored the colony as the breeding season progressed.<\/p>\n Early indications were positive, with all females successfully producing eggs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The answer was not directly related to the solar panels themselves. The solar farm became an owl nursery because it provided replacement habitat for displaced burrowing owls<\/a>.<\/p>\n Conservationists created artificial burrows, monitored the birds, supplied food, and supported their transition to the new site<\/strong>.<\/p>\n By late June, 36 chicks had hatched. Within roughly three months after hatching, 29 young owlets successfully fledged.<\/p>\n Once the young owls were strong enough, conservationists stopped feeding them and encouraged them to hunt on their own<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Researchers later found insect remains in the owls’ droppings, suggesting they were adapting to their new environment. Research continues today about how <\/span>burrowing owls react to large-scale solar farms<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Some think the openness provides benefits through greater visibility and better hunting opportunities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n What began as a relocation effort became something much larger.<\/p>\n A solar farm designed to collect sunlight also generated a new generation<\/strong> of burrowing owls.<\/p>\n As development reshapes the desert, similar projects may show whether wildlife and renewable energy can coexist<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thirty-six owl chicks hatched beneath an Arizona solar power plant. No one ever intended the site to become an owl nursery. The facility was built to generate electricity across a vast stretch of desert outside Phoenix. Instead, it became the setting for an unusual burrowing owl experiment. Workers even installed lights to attract insects at … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":30372,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"Arizona,solar,farm","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Thirty-six owl chicks hatched beneath an Arizona solar farm, turning the site into an unlikely nursery and inspiring workers to help feed them at night.","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A species running out of places to live<\/h2>\n
An unusual experiment in the desert<\/h2>\n
The project begins to pay off<\/h2>\n
Why did the solar farm become an owl nursery?<\/h3>\n