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Burrowing owls are a species of special concern in Florida. |
Florida Burrowing OwlsAlthough Miami Herald journalist Hiaasen is probably better known for his books about the seedier side of life in southern Florida, we can’t be too quick to dismiss Hoot as simply a nice children’s book just because the main characters are young. It deals with something that is happening around Florida all the time.
As Hiaasen writes on his Web site, “The burrowing owls who face destruction in Hoot are very much real. Their habitat is being wiped out by development, so the state finally gave them the status of a protected species. Sadly, the bulldozers keep rolling. In fact, after I'd finished Hoot, there was a news story about several owls being deliberately killed up in Broward County. The birds were the only things standing between the developer and some land he wanted to build on, and mysteriously the birds wound up dead. It was creepy how much it resembled the plot of the book.”
These 9-inch-tall underground dwellers that are considered a species of special concern within the state of Florida also faced real-life displacement at a university that uses the owl as its mascot. In 2000, Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton considered taking up 10 acres of its Audubon-designated preserve -- where burrowing owls and gopher tortoises have been protected since the early 1970s -- to build a stadium for its new football team.
Like many other species in Florida and other states, burrowing owls are losing habitat to development. As long as the owls aren’t nesting or the chicks have learned to fly, a burrow may be built upon, according to the Web site of the City of Cape Coral, where burrowing owls are just as likely to be the suburban neighbors next door as people are.
There have been suggestions that burrowing owls have actually gained habitat as forests have been turned into pastureland and other open space. The fact that burrowing owls have turned up in places they didn’t live before may be encouraging, but it may just be their way of looking for new homes to replace the ones that were destroyed. Considering that burrowing owls are said to have “territory fidelity,” meaning they stay in their area as long as it serves their needs, the reason may be the latter.
Although burrowing owls are just one of the species facing loss of habitat, it’s important to preserve as much as possible for future generations. As Hiaasen writes, “I would like my children and grandchildren to be able to grow up in a place where they can always see a bald eagle or a manatee or a school of dolphins -- or a pair of little burrowing owls, for that matter. And I think it's obscene to tolerate a political system in which the greedy are allowed to carve up, pave and poison what's left of the wilderness. So, in my books, highly unpleasant things happen to those sorts of scoundrels.”
Numbers: Most estimates on how many burrowing owls live in Florida cite between 3,000 and 10,000 birds.
Threats: Predators (like snakes, hawks, raccoons, dogs and cats), vehicle collisions, burrow flooding, pesticides and loss of habitat are the usual dangers.
Habitat: These birds live in open, usually sandy, areas. Many burrowing owls have made homes at airports, golf courses and ball fields.
Shelter: The owls dig their own burrows, take over unused gopher tortoise burrows and may even nest in drainage pipes. Burrows may be up to 8 feet long and up to 3 feet under the ground.
Food: Burrowing owls hunt mainly for insects like crickets but also may eat small lizards, frogs, snakes and birds, and carrion.
Sounds: These owls have a variety of calls, from “hoo-hoo” to “whep” to “cack.”
Breeding: The months between February and July are said to be the usual burrowing owl mating period. These birds can mate at a year old.
Nesting: Females lay 6 to 10 white eggs and may sometimes share the job of incubating the eggs with her mate, for about a month.
Offspring: Young burrowing owls fledge usually around 6 weeks after hatching, but they may be visible outside the burrow at as early as 2 weeks old.
According to the Cape Coral Web site, you can create a starter burrow in your yard by first removing 2 square feet of sod in a location that isn’t likely to flood, then by digging a small hole to get the owls started. As a bonus, place a perch in the shape of a “T” near the burrow, which will give the owls a vantage point at the entrance to their home and which will give you and others a reminder of the hole that’s there. Keep the burrow area trimmed with an edger or other small device rather than a large mower, which has been known to cause burrows to cave in.
Report burrowing owl harassment to your nearest Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission field office:
Look for burrowing owls in flat, open spaces like fields and lawns.
As with most wildlife, the best times to look for them are after daybreak and again before nightfall. Here are the locations of some known burrowing owl sites, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, A Birder’s Guide to Florida by Bill Pranty and personal observation.
Miranda Malone is a freelance writer in southern Florida. This is her second article for EcoFlorida.
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Homeowners may be able to attract burrowing owls to their yards by digging “starter burrows.” |
Two grade-school boys in Miami-Dade County are trying to save some burrowing owls from losing their home to development. And you can read all about it in 
Homeowners may be able to attract burrowing owls to their yards by digging “starter burrows.” Cape Coral developers and residents are encouraged to create these replacement burrows if they have to destroy a burrow in order to build, but the birds’ willingness to take up residence in starter burrows and their mobility in looking for habitat may indicate that they would use burrows in other areas and situations.
Burrowing owls are more active in the daytime than most other owls are, so spotting them is easier. It’s also a bonus to wildlife watchers that they have created homes in several places around Florida.