Fake poo and hoots help owls settle into new home

If you've ever moved house you'll know getting used to somewhere new can be challenging - and for these American owls it was no different.

They normally live on large areas of grassland which are now being turned into new houses, so biologists wanted to move them somewhere were they would have more protection.

But the challenge was getting the owls to accept their new homes, so scientists had to come up with a plan!

They had the original idea of playing owl sounds and scattering fake poo to help the owls feel more at home.

They hoped this would show the burrowing owls how great the new habitat was by making them think other owls already lived there - and it worked!

The scientists played recordings of owl calls before and after the new arrivals were released at four locations in southern California.

Look how happy they are! Two burrowing owlets look out from their new burrow

Colleen Wisinski, a conservation biologist at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, was one of those carrying out the experiment.

She said: "They like to be in a neighbourhood, to live near other owls."

She used a syringe to squirt around fake owl poop - which was actually just white paint.

The owls are known as burrowing owls, because they typically nest in underground burrows.

But unlike other kinds of owl, they are very sociable and like to live with many owls nearby.

Living together is also a valuable means of protection because owls sound an alarm to warn others of danger.

The population of western burrowing owls - the subspecies that lives in California - has declined by one-third since 1965.

It is considered a "species of special concern" in the state, with one of the major issues being lack of protection.

Resettling the owls in colonies helps to provide protection from predators, such as coyotes or hawks and so far has been a great success.

Most successfully settled into their new homes and established breeding colonies.

Are you a fan of owls? If so, what do like about them? Let us know in the comments...