He/She’s Gone

 Cape Coral Burrowing Owls  No Responses »
Apr 222013
 

Well I have finally come to the realization that the Burrowing owl on my front lawn is gone.  I haven’t see it for over 2 weeks now. Telling the difference between a male and female Burrowing Owl is difficult at best.  I was thinking that the owl that sat in my tree all night was a male, but I am beginning to think it was a female.  The males make a coo-cooing sound very similar to a mourning dove.  The owl that was at my house was making a chattering call all night, so I am thinking it might have been a female.

At any rate he/she is gone. Hopefully it found a mate and went off to another burrow somewhere.  There are a few active nests that now have chicks, so I will just have to be content watching them this year.

Update on my Burrowing Owl

 Update on my Burrowing Owl  Cape Coral Burrowing Owls  No Responses »
Mar 302013
 

I haven’t posted in my blog lately because nothing much is happening.  My little owl hasn’t found a mate as yet although my neighbor saw 2 owls fly into the bushes near her house.

I hear him chirping during the night, but it isn’t the usual mating call.  Someone just emailed me yesterday that the male owl near her house just found a mate, so there is hope.

He must be perched next to my house as I can hear him chirping as I write this at about 9:30 pm

He did enjoy  nice shower today.  We watered the lawn for the first time this year and he sat in front of the burrow enjoying the sprinklers. Must have felt good.

He’s Back!

 He’s Back!  Attracting Burrowing Owls, Burrowing Owl, Cape Coral Burrowing Owls  No Responses »
Mar 102013
 

 

I haven’t posted on my blog for a while because nothing has been happening with the little Burrowing Owl on my front lawn.  He has been sitting in the same tree, day after day since late December.  Like clockwork, he arrives in the tree at first light, and leaves the tree after sunset. Nothing changed until about a week ago when he started being seen at the burrow. Then he was gone, and I feared the worst..  I didn’t see him for about 4 days when all of a sudden yesterday he showed up at the burrow again.

All over town there is evidence that nesting season has started, but this little guy hasn’t even found a mate as yet.  I don’t think we are going to see chicks this year if he doesn’t get moving.

More Activity at the Burrow

 Cape Coral Burrowing Owls  No Responses »
Feb 222013
 

This morning the little Burrowing Owl that has been sitting in  a tree since December, is staying at the burrow a little longer each day.  Today I saw him at the burrow entrance at 8:30 am long after his usual time to be seen in the tree.

He is sitting at the burrow entrance so he can be seen in the webcam.  Check it out at http://capecoralburrowingowls.com

Activity at the Burrow – Finally

 Attracting Burrowing Owls, Burrowing Owl, Cape Coral Burrowing Owls  No Responses »
Feb 182013
 
 
Burrowing Owl 2012

Since late December a Burrowing Owl has been sitting in a palm tree in front of my house.  He is literally 5 feet from my garage door and about 8 feet high in the tree.  Every morning I check on him, and like clockwork, he is there first thing in the morning and leaves after dark to go hunting.  I heard him calling for a mate  quite a while ago, but nothing recently. Last week I saw him at the burrow for the first time.  It was about 9pm and as my car headlight turned across my lawn, I spotted him sitting on the perch.

Today I was leaving the house at 7:30 and there he was at the burrow. He was digging as there was sand flying all over.  Maybe there is a chance we will have chicks this year.

I remined the owl ( I talk to him every day) that it is nesting season and that he had better get on the stick and find a mate.

Check out his photo below.

Burrowing Owl 2012

 

Look How Big I AM!

 Cape Coral Burrowing Owls  2 Responses »
Jan 162013
 

I stopped by to check on the family of  Burrowing Owls that I have been reporting on.  In mid-December I saw 3 chicks and 2 adults.  Of late people have been reporting that they are seeing only one chick.  Today I saw the 2 parents and 1 chick.  Below are photos taken on 12/12/12 and 1/16/13.  This makes the chick about six weeks old. They usually fledge (FLY) at about 45 days, and this little guy is certainly practicing.  When I arrived at the burrow he was practicing his balance and was perched about 5 inches of the ground on a dead stem of a weed.  He/she sure has grown from that original picture!

 

1212 Burrowing Owl chick

The chick (on right) is about the same size as the parent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Bird Count Finds Burrowing Owls

 Burrowing Owl, In The News, Nature  No Responses »
Jan 072013
 

The results are in from the recent Christmas Bird count held in the San Francisco Bay area, and for the first time a Burrowing Owl was recorded.  A news article about the unusual, exciting, and discouraging results was published in a local paper.  It was interesting to note that the location of where the Burrowing Owl was seen wasw not published, and that is a good thing.  Last year a Burrowing Owl showed up in the Chicago area.  Photographers and birders alike repeatedly flushed the bird to get a good look.  The excitement was short lived when a Cooper’s Hawk, picked off the owl to the horror of onlookers.

Read the entire article  [HERE]

Love is in the Air

 Cape Coral Burrowing Owls  No Responses »
Jan 022013
 

For about a week now I have been seeing a Burrowing Owl sitting in a tree only feet from my garage door.  (See my post of  12/24/12).  He/she has been reliably there every day, all day since then.  Last night I heard the owl calling for a mate, so that pretty much confirms that “my” owl is a male.

Hope he finds a mate soon.

To hear the mating call check out this YouTube Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63AW74gkIDM

Although this is the western species of the Burrowing Owl, they have the same call as the Florida species found here in Cape Coral, FL

Ah Ha! I found you!

 Attracting Burrowing Owls, Burrowing Owl, Cape Coral Burrowing Owls  No Responses »
Dec 302012
 

For the past several weeks, I have been seeing one Burrowing Owl in my front lawn very sporadically.  Days and weeks have gone by without seeing the owl.  Well the other day we, I should say  my husband, found the little guy’s (girl’s?) hiding place giving a new meaning to hiding in plain sight.  This little owl has been sitting in a palm tree about 3 feet from our garage door.  It is obvious that is has been doing this for a while judging from the amount of poop on the palm fronds.  It would also explain why, when my husband went to trim the tree the other day, the owl came out of nowhere and was sitting on my dining room window, only a few feet from the tree where it has been sitting.

I took the photo below from my garage mere feet away from the little guy.  Obviously he was unconcerned about my presence, but his rather fierce look was trained on our two dogs that were happily peeing on the owls tree, oblivious to its presence.

The tree is in a well protected spot, safe from predators, and the winds we have been having here in Florida.

Cape Coral Burrowing Owl in Tree

The Chicks are Growing

 Attracting Burrowing Owls, Burrowing Owl, Cape Coral Burrowing Owls  No Responses »
Dec 282012
 

On December 12, 2012 I reported that I found a Burrowing Owl burrow with a chick and 2 parents.  Nesting season doesn’t officially start in Cape Coral, Fl until mid February, so it is highly unusual to see chicks this time of year. Last year I found a pair of chicks at at burrow in January and this year even earlier.  I would venture a guess that the chick wast 10-14 days old on 12/12. Below is a photo showing the chick on that day and a photo I took today 2 weeks later.  I merged the two photos and tried to make the parent in both photos about the same size.  You can see how much the chick has grown and has lost most of its fuzzy grey downy feathers.

1212 Burrowing Owl chick

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