There are hundreds of species of owls around the world, but I’m only familiar with a few. I’ve seen Snowy owls, Barn owls, and Great Horned owls in nature documentaries and photos, and even in bird demonstrations, but I’ve never seen them in the wild.
I’ve always thought of owls as big, majestic birds that are stealthy, silent hunters. I’ve always been told how good their eyesight and hearing are, which helps them swoop down on unsuspecting prey.
But then I heard of a ground-dwelling owl, and all my preconceived notions about owls went out the window.
Apparently, Cape Coral, Florida is home to a large number of Burrowing owls, one of the smallest owl species in the world, and the only one that lives underground!
There are many ground-nesting bird species around the world, but I never would have imagined that owls would be in that category. For the most part, Burrowing owls don’t actually build their own houses, though. Instead, they just make themselves at home in places where the majority of the work has already been done.
As this PBS Nature article says,
Burrowing owls like to settle in open areas with minimal grass cover, empty burrows built by other animals more adept at digging, and perch sites. The elaborate underground networks of tunnels and chambers fashioned by prairie dogs and other burrowing mammals fit the bill nicely.
But Florida’s Burrowing owls are mostly on their own when it comes to digging out a burrow—and they’ve set to work in people’s yards, in road medians, and even in football fields!
Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife, volunteers who “preserve and enhance the habitats of protected wildlife species and educate the community about Cape Coral’s wildlife resources,” estimate that there are about 2,000 Burrowing owls in Cape Coral, making it the largest population in the state.
And that’s something to celebrate!
Each year, the city of Cape Coral holds a Burrowing Owl Festival in February to honor its famous owl residents, which has now been an annual tradition for nearly 20 years. Late February is when the owls are starting to nest, giving visitors a good chance of seeing them hard at work!
Burrowing owls are one of the few species of owls that aren’t nocturnal, so you can see them day or night. Festival organizers even provide those wanting to get a closer look with a map of all the nests in town, so you can watch them in action and understand more about their distinct traits and behavior.
There are other ways to learn about the owls at the festival, too, like dissecting their feces to see what they eat!
If you’re not up for that, though, you can simply observe them, ask questions, read about them at exhibitions, listen to lectures and presentations—and above all, learn to appreciate and protect them.
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