Monday, August 31, 2009

Cape Coral's Burrowing Owls

Cape Coral is home to Florida's largest population of Burrowing Owls. When development first began in the area of Cape Coral and the land was clear-cut for homes, these owls found suitable habitat in the sandy soil of freshly cleared lots and set up residence.



Aptly named, the owls either create new or make use of abandoned burrows to live in and nest. They stand approximately nine inches tall and weigh roughly four ounces. Active both during day and night, they can often be seen either peering out of their burrow or standing atop the small mound of sand over it.




Many Cape Coral residents help protect their feathered neighbors by placing stakes around the burrow with a string perimeter.



Sometimes a “T” stake is placed behind the burrow for the birds to perch on.



The Cape Coral population is estimated at more than 1,000 pairs.

11 comments:

Chris said...

A small beauty! Very beautiful shots, I love the one on the post but all are very nice

Tami Weingartner said...

Wow! I love owls what great shots!

Richard said...

Great pictures. Some of your best.

Montanagirl said...

An interesting post, and excellent photos of the owls. I really do love Owls and love capturing them in photos. Nice work!

Don and Sher said...

Very nice shots and interesting info, I had never heard of them. So today was not wasted on the Net I learned something, thank you.

Don

Vicki ~ FL said...

Great shots .... I think I'll have to come down and drive the neighborhoods to find some nesting sites just and take some photos. Maybe I'll do that this week:~)

Tina said...

I just love all the places you are visiting and so enjoy all your pixs. I have never been over to cape coral but girl you better believe it is now on my list to do so.
What big eyes you have little owl...and oh those awesome patterns just pop in your photos.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Cute little guys.I have seen them once and thoght they looked comical.
Blessings,Ruth

denapple said...

Oh, Wow! I'm so jealous. Burrowing owls are among my favorites!

Eve said...

Lucky you!! I'm jealous!!

Cape Coral Barometer said...

I live in SW Cape Coral, and come across burrowing owls all the time! I tend to see them more often at night!

http://www.capecoralbarometer.com