While we met another member of his species who did seem to fear humans at least to a certain extent, this little guy was not terribly afraid of people, and so apparantly he's doomed:
One of the benefits to being a person who stops to read every last sign and historical marker is that every once in a great while the reading material is actually interesting. We met this canned goods sized bird, a burrowing owl my mom decided to call Fred, only because I couldn’t let this sign go unread. And let me tell you that it well made up the seconds I lost having stopped to read a sign that merely chastised someone for failing to control his or her weeds:
According to my mom, who read this website, burrowing owls are in big trouble because although it is illegal to bulldoze over their borrows while they are home, the moment these tiny fellows go out for pizza, all bets are off. Their humble abode can be razed in favor the next condo or beach home…although, we joked, there’s a rule about leaving the owls an entrance through the basement AND, my dad added, “You have to put one of those little signs on your door that says, ‘Mi Casa Es Su Casa’”.
Of course I had to also run right out and find a children's book to go with our discovery - Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen.
This website did say that that their numbers seem to be up from last year: more on the twipply skwood cuties.
8 comments:
Never heard of a burrowing owl before, thanks for the info. (BTW, I like to read the historical signs too.)
So couldn't the owls simply call out for pizza????? :)
JEB
All over Marco Island I could just hear those little guys giving their feathery little foreheads a slap and saying "Why didn't *I* think of that?" Why don't you run down and let them know? :-) :-) :-)
I would love to run down there...but I'm sure I'd find that they simply have poor cell phone service (being underground and all) and CAN'T call out...boy, would't I look stupid!!
Interesting post, I don't know much about owls. I'm one of those people that is scared of small animals but mostly insects.
Thanks for stopping by my blog, you're welcome anytime :)
My dad is like you--stops to read every sign and marking along the path...he makes for a very long hike. (but then again, he's a wealth of information...some even useful!)
Do you live down in Marco? One of my coworkers lives there. My parents have a place up in Long Boat Key, and a place on the beach in Ft. Meyers.
No, we were just visiting from Texas. I do tend toward a wealth of relatively useless information though. :-)
awww pooor little guy. He's so cute!
I have to read every sign like that too! Drives my husband nuts sometimes. (especially when I have to take pictures of all the signs)
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