WILDOMAR, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California city is hoping to entice barn owls to take up residence in a renovated park to control the gopher and mouse populations.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports (https://bit.ly/1bioixQ ) Wildomar is building a birdhouse at Regency Heritage Park, which is slated to reopen next month after being closed for several years.
It was City Manager Gary Nordquist’s idea to put a barn owl house on the 3-acre site when workers there found evidence of rodents.
Nordquist says he noticed that the gophers at his property disappeared after barn owls began nesting under the eaves of his house.
Elementary school students raised money for materials to build the 2-foot-high bird house.
Barn owls hunt at night for rodents and other mammals found in fields, grasslands, marshes and deserts.
___
Information from: The Press-Enterprise, https://www.pe.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.