Wind whispers through silvery green grasses as Alex Froese’s arm disappears into a dark hole in the ground on a Prairie pasture near Melita in southwestern Manitoba in July.
She gently pulls out a baby owl. Then another, and another, passing them to her assistant, who puts them into a bucket.
“This is the best day of the year,” says Froese, director of the non-profit Manitoba Burrowing Owl Recovery Project.
“It feels amazing every year to handle them and band them and know that the reason these young are there is because of our program and because of the work I’ve put in.”
Froese has dedicated the past 13 years of her life to staving off a local extinction of burrowing owls.
Over the years, Froese has released about 215 into the wild, including five pairs and 14 young this year.
