Great Human Interest Story

Enclosed is a submission on Burrowing Owls (Athene Conicularia) that I submitted to eight birding and wildlife publications. Birds & Blooms picked it up and it appeared in the September 2001 issue. Bird Watcher's Digest wanted to publish it, but by the time they got back to me it had appeared in Birds & Blooms and they passed on it. The following is a copy of the submission.

During a recent trip to Punte Gorda, Florida I had my first exposure to Burrowing Owls. There was an empty lot next to the home where we were staying that had a burrow with a nesting pair of owls. This has been an active burrow for many years and this residential neighborhood has come to accept the owls as part of the neighborhood. The burrow was located about five feet from the curb of the street that had a fair amount of traffic. The owls had been there for many years and were acclimated to cars and the people who walk their dogs past the burrow.

All was fine with this arrangement until the city decided that it was time to install a sidewalk. Unfortunately the sidewalk was scheduled to go right over the burrow. This is a neighborhood were many of the people are not full time residents, they are only there during the winter months. They were not aware that the sidewalk was planned and that it would cover the burrow. When they saw what was happening and the contractor was in the process of covering over the burrow, they forced them to stop. The project came to a screeching halt. In the mean time the commotion created by the confrontation had people passing by stopping to see what was happening. This also brought out city officials, the media, both print and TV, and the police to control it all. While the city representatives and the neighborhood group were trying to resolve this problem, the owls sat in the empty lot watching all this play out.

During a time when so much of our habitat that wildlife needs to exist on is lost to development, the city representatives showed a high degree of sensitivity. To the city's credit, they agreed that the burrow should not be covered. They had the engineering dept. change the plans to shift the sidewalk around the burrow. The people were happy, the city showed their sensitivity for our feathered friends, and the little guys, the owls that had no say in this decision, I am sure were pleased. It is amazing what can be done when people care and get involved. One burrow might not seem like a lot to some but it meant a great deal to the owls and the people who looked after them.

These photographs were taken in February 2001, as of February 2002 the owls were back, enjoying their burrow and are in the midst of parenthood.