BULLHEAD CITY, ARIZONA—A pair of Great Horned owls have apparently built a nest in the Big K-Mart sign at 2250 Arizona 95 in Bullhead City. Some residents expressed concern because of a proposed sign change that might impact the owls nest. Beverley Craig of the K-Mart location, however, said emphatically that the sign will not be changed until the owls are gone. “Even the sign guy says they won’t touch it while they’re there,” she said.

“There is a plan to change the sign, but it’s like a month or so away,” Craig said. She added, “They won’t touch it with the owls up there anyway.”

Beverley verified that there is a male and female owl and they believe that there are babies. “There’s a mommy and daddy and we believe there’s a couple of babies up there. They’re up there every night. And, of course, momma sits out every afternoon on the sign.”

Beverley also pointed out that there is a benefit to having the owls move in. “We were happy to see them arrive because we used to be infested with pigeons. Now the pigeons are all gone. I want to put an owl box in my backyard,” she laughed.

The High Country Raptors program is a non-profit organization that does educational programs about birds of prey at Bearizona in Williams. They have three shows a day at the wild life drive-through park.

Susan Ruble of the High Country Raptors program said that seeing owls in store signs is not a rare sight. “It’s not uncommon. It just depends on if there is game in that area. They’ve got one nesting down at the Home Depot in Prescott. Great Horns don’t seem to be real picky.”

She explained that owls, like other predatory birds, maintain a population equilibrium of rodents and other small animals. The babies should start leaving the nest at about eight-weeks, but generally stay near the nest for sometime. “They should keep the sign up as long as possible,” Susan advised.

K-Mart is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Sears company. The Sears Holding Company received recognition in March from the EPA for being an ENERGY STAR partner for 2013. Their press release reads:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Sears Holdings with a 2013 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for its continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency. This year, Sears Holdings is being awarded for both its role as a retailer of ENERGY STAR certified products and for energy management in its stores. Sears Holdings’ accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 2013.