Owls nesting at NMSU’s football stadium may not leave until July

The saga of the burrowing owls at New Mexico State’s Aggie Memorial Stadium is not over.

Dr. Martha Desmond, avian ecologist at NMSU, has been studying burrowing owls for 20 years.

She says the owls nesting in the stadium will stay there until the young are old enough to fly. There are typically eight eggs per nest and on average two to three owls will mature enough to fly away on their own.

Two nests are located on the south end of the field and one nest is located on the north end of the field.

She says the turf will not be removed on the very north end of the field until the birds have have matured enough to leave on their own, which might not happen until July.

Desmond added that measures are in place to keep the birds safe from the turf removal.