Burrowing Owls

Burrowing Owls

This morning I checked on a burrowing owl nest site that I have been keeping an eye on.  They owl family lives in a pasture/ future industrial site along Domestic Street in south Lee County. Today was my first siting of the new babies. Three fluffy owlets of varying sizes were siting at the edge of the burrow with mom and dad watching from close by.

Yesterday, I also found a pair of burrowing owls in a pasture along state road 74 in Gladys County. I had passed up on getting some sleep, after getting off of work, at 7am, to look for three target birds. Florida Scrub Jay, Wild Turkey and Crested Caracara. I thought that this early hour I had a good shoot at all three in Gladys County. The open country along SR74, between US27 and CR731, which is eleven miles, did reward me with three Scrub Jays, two Caracara, seven Sandhill Cranes, many Black and Turkey Vultures, American Crows and Eastern Meadowlarks.  But no turkeys today. The caracaras and vultures were working two different road kills. One was a dead gray fox and the other was a smelly, five foot gator. And the burrowing owls were a pleasant surprise.

Tomorrow, I plan on heading out early for the Keys and other Dade County stops for several target birds.  Many are exotics like parrots amd mynah birds.  I am going try, for about the ninth time, for red-whiskered bulbul and spot-breasted oriole in Kendell.  Then to Marathon in the Keys for Rosetta Terns and Antillean Nighthawks. Will see what happens.

My List (22) - Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Crested Caracara, Sandhill Crane, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Burrowing Owl, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Florida Scrub-Jay, American Crow, Northern Mockingbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle