E73 Naturally Scott Adventures – Burrowing Owls: Florida’s Tiny Underground Raptors 🦉🌴

Owls are usually creatures of forests, trees, and darkness. Burrowing Owls break just about every one of those rules.

In this edition of Naturally Scott Adventures, Scott Harris heads to Cape Coral, Florida, a city that calls itself the “Burrowing Owl Capital of the World”—and makes a pretty convincing case. Unlike most owls, these tiny raptors live underground, spend much of their day out in the open, and have become remarkably comfortable sharing their neighborhoods with people. 

One of Scott’s favorite places to watch them is the Pelican Baseball Complex, where roughly 20 burrows sit just beyond the center-field fence. Around Cape Coral, their burrows are protected by simple PVC markers, allowing people to watch and photograph the owls while giving the birds space to go about their lives. 

In this episode:

🦉 Why Burrowing Owls are unlike any other American owl

⚾ Watching owls from the outfield of a baseball game

🌴 Why Cape Coral may be the best place in America to see them

🪲 How they hunt everything from beetles and grasshoppers to reptiles and rodents

☀️ Why male Burrowing Owls can become bleached by the Florida sun

🐣 The irresistible experience of watching an owl family outside its burrow

🐍 How baby Burrowing Owls can produce a remarkably convincing rattlesnake-like sound

Scott also shares other places to find Burrowing Owls around the country and explains why Cape Coral offers such an unusual opportunity to spend time at eye level with one of America’s most charismatic little raptors. 

Transcript

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Welcome to Naturally, Scott. I'm your host, Scott Harris. This is my podcast. Actually, this is our podcast because I really feel like we're doing this together. I'm getting a lot of positive feedback from people about the shows we're doing. This will be show about number 73. So we've been doing it for a while. We've had some fun and it's great. Our regular watchers or viewers, and I'm very grateful and appreciative of those, will know that we've now gone to every other week we have a human guest, and then on the alternate weeks, we are doing what we're calling naturally Scott Adventures, where we're taking some place that I've gone and visited and extrapolating a story out of that, almost always about uh different animals, um, birds and mammals and reptiles and whatnot. And uh just whatever it is that we find is going to be fun. The adventures have become a real treat for me. I absolutely love doing them. And um I've got some coming up. Um I leave in a few days for Oregon, going to uh bring you back a gray whale and a stellar sea lion adventure and maybe something else. We'll kind of see what we find out there. Um, but they're great trips and they're fun to share. And I love getting the feedback, both from people who have been, and so we have a common and shared experience, and for those that haven't, and either just enjoyed it from an armchair point of view, or uh said, you know what, I gotta get over there. I got to see that. That's pretty amazing. And today might be one of those days because you're going to find that what we're talking about is not terribly difficult to find and is well worth your time. So here we go. Uh regular, again, regular uh viewers will know that raptors are my favorite birds. Um and over the last couple of years, owls have become my favorite raptors. The more I learn about owls, the more I enjoy them, um, the more intriguing I find them. And um, I just love learning more and more about them. So this one today is kind of a special owl. There are some things about it that are unique, and I'm going to share that with you. And it is the burrowing owl. They're typically found in this country in about 19 different states. Now, that is predominantly in the western half of the country, the west coast, the southwest, the Rocky Mountains, and in the middle of the country, the Great Plains. These are the places that have the burrowing owls and Florida. Now, for those of you in Louisiana, you're going to mention they're sometimes in Louisiana, and they are, but really on the east half of the country, Florida is the place for them. And what we're going to be talking about today, specifically, is Cape Coral, Florida. Um, it is uh just an unbelievable place to see these birds. We're gonna talk about that. Um again, you might know I've got a book coming out uh next year called American Safaris, uh, in which I write about 25 different animals, um, two-thirds of them mammals, marine and terrestrial, and one-third of them birds, where if you go at the right place and you go at the right time, you're virtually guaranteed to see that animal. The brewing owls are one of them. The interesting thing is in Cape Coral, Florida, you don't really have to go at the right time. They're there year-round now, which we're gonna talk about. Um, but it's a fun chapter in the book. When it comes out, I think you will enjoy it. And um I'm gonna explain to you why. The Brewing Owl Capital of the World is the title that Cape Coral, Florida has applied to itself. I think it's a fair argument. It's probably the place that I would pick. There are others that might disagree, um, but their Chamber of Commerce was quicker to grab that moniker and off they ran with it. And um, Cape Coral, Florida is, in my experience, both nationally and internationally, a unique way uh to watch owls. Um it is you're gonna find as we explore this, it is just remarkable. But as you go into town, as you go into Cape Coral, Florida, um, you're going to find these little owls. And I'll show you, I'll tell you where, and um you're going to just you're gonna be amazed if you didn't already know this, uh, how many reasons there are to love them and how easy they are to find. Um but one of not one of my favorite place to go watch them is the Pelican Baseball Complex, which is right downtown in Cape Coral. And it is a beautiful baseball complex, and there's a great field there, and right behind the center field fence is home to roughly 20 burrows with burrowing owls. Now you ask yourself, how is that possible? These are owls, they're diurnal, they're they're they're afraid of humans or at least cautious about us. Um, but these owls are different, in large part because they're protected. So in Cape Coral, every time that a burrowing owl has a new burrow, um, and burrowing owls do dig some of their own burrows in Florida, which they don't do generally in the western half of the United States. And we'll talk about that again later, too. But they do dig some of their own. So right behind this center field fence, in this beautiful park with um trees filled with parrots, by the way. So it's just an amazing place to be. Um, there are about 20 different burrows. Each of the burrows is marked with four PVC pipes. So the city or one of the locals will take these pipes, generally in about a 10 or 12 foot square, and they put these pipes down in the four corners, and they request that the residents and the visitors and people like you and I that are going there to see that respect the space of those PVC pipes and do not break that barrier. Um, and the burrowing owls have become used to that. So they're used to people coming right up to the edge, cameras clicking, kids giggling, people talking, um, probably not their preference, but they don't seem bothered by it. I've been down there six or eight times to see the owls. I love taking friends down there. And I've never once seen somebody um uh disregard those rules. And uh so I think that's a that's a beautiful thing. So you have these PVC pipes, they mark off the burrowing areas, and then generally right by the burrow. Um, again, I don't know if it's a city or a local, but somebody has kind somebody has kindly built a tea perch, if you will. They put a stake in the ground, crossbeam going across, and uh the owls can use that. Predominantly the male. The male spends almost all day, every day, outside of the nest. That's that's his job. He guards the nest, which is why when you see the male and female together, the male is almost always a much lighter color because they are literally bleached out by the sun. So you've got this remarkable thing. You've got this baseball field. I've been there when games are going on. You can pull up an easy chair, grab a cooler, grab your camera, watch the game, um, which I love by the way. I used to coach club baseball and I I adore baseball. And then whenever you want, you can watch these little owls because they are out all day long. And um, it is an absolute blast uh to get to see them right then right there in center field. Now, it's not just at the Pelican baseball complex. They are all over the city. They are in front yards and backyards and vacant lots, meridians on streets in front of the library. They are all over town. The locals just seem to ignore them, and the birds seem to ignore everybody. Um, but they are available for photography, for viewing. If you want to do a quick stop by and see them, you can. If you want to spend hours with them, which I've done, you can. Uh they are they are just a blast. Now they are unique in some ways. Uh they are the only owl in the world that lives underground. And on the western half of the country, um, they live in burrows where they've taken them over from prairie dogs or tortoises or ground squirrels or even badgers. Um if they find an empty burrow, they'll grab it and make it their own. And so that's pretty cool. They are also now we have 19 owls in the United States that call the United States home. We do have some occasional visitors. Uh, there's a mottled owl right now down in southeastern Texas that has been visiting for almost two years, I believe. But of our 19 owls that are resident owls here in the United States, the burrowing owl is the only one where the male is larger than the female. Uh, the sexual dimorphism in the other 18 species has the female owl being the larger of the two, but here the male is the larger of the two. And they also they're kind of casual about their diet. They eat day or night. So they are not pure diurnal, um, and they are not uh pure krepsucular, meaning only at dawn or only at dusk. And um it's it's kind of a neat thing. They will eat almost anything that they can catch. Grasshoppers, beetles, dragonflies, scorpions, rodents, reptiles, amphibians. Um they have been known to line uh their burrows with uh dung, which some people believe attracts dung beetles, which makes for a tasty little meal. They don't do a lot of flying, even when they're hunting. Um they will walk, they will run, they will hop uh to capture their prey. They have unusually long legs, and like most raptors, they have needle-sharp talons. So when they find something and grab it with those talons, that's usually a death sentence for whatever it is they've been chasing. And they're pretty good hunters, and there are lots of those things. Heck, they even eat scorpions. There's lots of those things in uh in South Florida, so there's no shortage of food for these birds. Which is a great thing. Now they're tiny, uh, they weigh maybe a half pound, they've got a two-foot wingspan, and you'll see them stretch their wings. You don't see them fly very often, but you do see them stretch their wings. They s they stay good that way, and they stand one foot tall. Now, usually they're on the ground. Um and uh but the the males will sometimes get up on the perch and look around and take a peek. And when they have their babies that come out in the spring, it's darling cute. So they have this burrow, and it's a little concave into the earth, it's been dug out a little bit, and you get these little baby burrowing owls come up, and they're so tiny and they're so cute. And mom and dad will be there, and you can get these family shots, and it's really spectacular to watch. Um, and again, I love the fact that they coexist with people in um in a respectful way, or we respect them. They're just living, but we respect them, and and uh that's so critically important, and I love to see that. I I think it says a lot about us as people. Now, the western version of the brewing owl is different than our eastern version. It's larger uh than the eastern version, and um it is it migrates uh as far as uh south as Central America. So they might come down from the Canadian plains and hang out in some of the areas we've mentioned before, you know, the West Coast, the southwest, the Great Plains, but then they'll continue moving down to Central America. Uh, whereas our Florida ones, well, the theory is the living's too easy. They're not going anywhere. They've got great weather, they've got plenty of food, they've got easy loose sand to dig their burrows in, and they have now decided that's a permanent residence. I imagine that there are some that do still take off and do a little migrating, but the majority of them are there year-round. There's no reason for them to leave. Um, there is nothing that happens uh that they can't do in Florida. And so that is a special thing about it. So it's not one of these animals that you have to go at an exact time, say during a migration route, like the snow geese. We've talked about snow geese before, um, or sandhill cranes, where you go to Missouri and Nebraska and you see those in March, but you don't see them at other times of the year. Uh the brewing owls you see all the time in Florida. Um the other states, they're gone. They do do some migrating, so it's worth checking out. As I mentioned, you can find them. You'll see these PVC markers anywhere. After you've seen a couple of them, you recognize them. And little, you'll find them in front of shopping centers or in the street meridians, empty lots, um, you know, little side runways and alleys, and it's just a blast. You can just drive around town and see as many of them as you want. Now, if you want to go somewhere besides Florida, if you want to check out some other areas, um, the Pawnee National Grasslands, which is in Colorado, close to the Nebraska border, and it's a couple hours from Denver. It's what in my mind I think of when I think of a burrowing owl. Uh, there are a lot of prairie dog out there, thousands and thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of prairie dogs. And of course, prairie dogs get eaten quite often uh by raptors and coyotes and whatnot. So there are burrows that open up and um the burrowing owls take those over. And that's kind of uh that's kind of what I envision in my head, you know, these vast prairies and uh the the the prairie dog burrows and the burrowing owls and the coexistence and whatnot. So that's kind of a a neat thing. Um in California, uh you're getting down close to the Mexican border. The Imperial Valley has quite a few burrowing owls, and you can find those. And again, if you're uh an e-bird user, if you're a birder, you can look those up and find those places. But they're not uncommon. Now they're a little easier, a little more difficult, I mean, to find and to watch in areas other than uh Southern Florida, because not everybody marks them off with PVC, big bright white PVC pipes that are easy to find and watch, but you can still find them. I've seen them in a variety of states, Colorado, California, Arizona, um, they're out there a bit. But if we go back to Florida, and all due respect, um, Florida has Marco Island, uh, which is relatively close to Cape Coral. And the locals there, many of them claim that they are the burrowing owl capital of the world. And they've got a pretty nice collection of burrowing owls, and a little, because it's an island, you've got different habitat and different photographs and different ways to view. But once again, um, you can see them any time of the day. Uh, get there early, middle of the day, stay late, whatever you want to do, you'll get to see these burrowing owls. So that is a nod to Marco Is Marco Island, um, which I believe they would want. Um, I still happen to prefer Pelican uh baseball complex and Cape Coral, but I imagine that has as much to do with the baseball field and the romance of that um as it does to the exact location. Um and this is just about this is just about the easiest owl you're ever gonna see. Um, and and and it's just a remarkable thing to watch. They're not hidden up in the trees, they're not buried during the day where you can't find them, or out in the middle of the night where you can't see them, and you certainly can't hear them. And one of the things that I love to do, and I strongly recommend if you get a chance, you give this a shot. When you're out there, like let's say you do go behind the baseball complex, get down on your belly. Get down on your belly and kind of crawl up to the outer markings of the PVC pipe and just watch them as long as you want. It is fascinating, especially when the babies are there, you know, and the fledges are coming, is to watch them go in and out of their burrow, watch dad guard his place, do a little hunting in the middle of the day. Um, all of those things are happening. There's usually some nice white sand surrounded by some green plants, low green plants, they don't block the view. So you can get some great photographs. And if you're not a photographer, you can just sit get some great views of these animals, and uh they're pretty special. Um and by the way, and here's a little warning for you, but it's a good news warning. Don't be fooled into thinking there's a rattlesnake in one of these burrows. Uh the baby uh brewing owls have a remarkable ability to mimic rattlesnakes. Now it's not a hundred percent certain that they do that because people don't like rattlesnakes, um, but it is very effective. It is difficult even for experts to differentiate between a true rattlesnake and a burrowing owl mimicking a rattlesnake. So it is thought that that would keep predators out of the burrows. And um, hopefully that's the case, uh, maybe keep other snakes out or uh somebody a coyote from digging it up. Um but it is an amazing sound when you hear it. And I'll tell you what, the first time you hear it, if you haven't been forewarned like I just did for you, you will jump out of your shoes. At least I do. Um I am pretty quick to move. Well, I'm not that quick anymore, but as quick as I can be, uh, I will jump out of the way of something that sounds like a rattlesnake. So, and you know, when you do get down to Florida, there's so many amazing other things to see animal-wise. Um, you're less than two hours away uh from another chapter in the book, American Safaris, uh, this one being about alligators, uh Big Cypress National Preserve. You can get down and see that. There are osprey all over, especially at Marco Island. So there are some great things to see and some great things to visit. A lot of bald eagles in the area, so you get to see that. And of course, if you're on the Florida coast, you've got a chance to see some dolphin and some marine mammals. And if you get there at the right time of year, if you go in winter, which is my favorite time because the town's quieter, and frankly, it's not as hot. Uh, summers in Florida are not known for their comfort factor. But so you can go down there, and here's a third chapter in that book. Florida has the most chapters of any state, is the Florida manatees, uh, which Big Springs National Wildlife Refuge is down there. And you could Crystal Springs, I'm sorry, Crystal Springs. And you head down to that and you can see the manatees generally in January and February. So in one trip in a weekend, you can see burrowing owls and manatees and alligators and osprey and bald eagle. It's a wildlife festival. And um, I strongly recommend if you get a chance, get down there and do that and uh have a blast. And if you do, if you get down there and do that, send me a note. Let me know how you liked it. If you've already been, send me a note. I'm throwing my email up now, Scott at Naturally Scott.com. I would absolutely love to hear from you. And um any comments you have on this show or any show, share them. We're always trying to get better. And speaking of comments, if you're watching on YouTube, do me a favor and hit subscribe. Every time you do, YouTube pushes this show out to more people. You know, we don't sell advertising or anything. This is a hobby, a fun hobby. Um, and I love sharing this with people. So the more people that see that and learn about these animals and these places to visit, I think the better it is for everybody. I think the more we learn about nature, the more we can respect it and love it and maybe keep it safe and conserve and be a conservationist if we get a chance to do that. So if you get a chance, hit subscribe. Um if you want to leave a comment right on YouTube, please do. I read those and I respond to every one of them. And um if you just want to hit like, if you do like it, I would love for you to do that. If you've got suggestions uh for upcoming shows, please share them with me, and uh we're trying to incorporate those. And I want to take a moment and just say thank you to Frank Sierra, my best friend for over 50 years, and Justin Harris, my son, for over 42 years, who are the two producers on this show. And without them, we don't get any of this. We don't get the show. Um, they're the ones that make this spectacular. I just get to ramble on for a little bit, which again, regular viewers know I love to do, um, just about things I get excited about. And um, but I want to remember to thank these guys pretty often because they're the ones that bring you the show, uh the production quality and and all the positive things and the images that go on there and the videos. And um, so there you go. I hope you're having a spectacular day. I hope you enjoyed this show, and I hope you come back next week, and uh and we've got another show. All right, next week is going to be about squirrels. So that should be an absolute blast. Um actually that's Frank calling now. I should have turned my phone off. So uh next week is gonna be a show about squirrels. I happen to love squirrels, and it's not the same for every birder in the world. Um, it's the same for every raptor, but not for every birder. So we're gonna learn more about squirrels with a guy named John Kaprowski. And um, if you missed last week's show, that was John Ford on Orcas, which was fascinating, West Coast Orcas. I I thought I knew a lot about orcas and I learned a ton. So again, every week we try to bring you something different and exciting. This week is over. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Scott Harris, the host of Naturally Scott, and I'm honored that you took the time to listen. Take care and have a great day.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

This has been a Naturally Scott Adventures podcast with Scott Harris. Naturally Scott Adventures is hosted by Scott Harris, produced by Justin Harris, and edited by Frank Sierra. Follow us on our YouTube channel at Naturally Scott and Instagram at Naturally Scott Harris. If this conversation resonated with you, please follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Naturally Scott Adventures thanks you for viewing and listening to this podcast.