Birding Underground

February 21 was the Cape Coral Burrowing Owl Festival, and since Laura's all about the birds, we of course were in attendance to wander through the booths of crafts, various wildlife and outdoor groups, and the ubiquitous and numerous greyhound rescue groups. Fortunately, we were able to get through the small festival quickly enough that we did not end up returning to the RV with yet another rescued pup destined for the sweet life.

We then were off to the surrounding area in search of the elusive festival namesake. Well, I'm not sure if elusive is quite the right term... Basically, you drive around the neighborhoods of Cape Coral in search white PVC pipes cordoning off ten foot by ten foot plots which appear to be memorials to gophers of a Christian faith who weren't quite dead yet:


In actuality, the little crosses are perches for the owls, and the plots are intended to provide a buffer for the owls. Unfortunately, many of even the well-intentioned owl groupies seem to disregard that buffer in their quest to peer down into the burrows for the elusive feathered digger.


Even more unfortunate is the fact that others seem to have even more sinister intentions:


I mean, I know they're cute little buggers, but there needs to be a line drawn somewhere!

After viewing several of these plots with nary a glimpse of a feathered critter, we finally came upon one with a little feathered bump sitting next to it's perch. While keeping a respectful distance, I was able to approach enough to take the following picture (and quite a few others), without the owl voicing any concerns about my presence.



In fact, when it became clear after several minutes that the owl was perfectly comfortable with my presence, I encouraged Laura to approach closer as well. As Laura is the consummate experienced birder, I knew that she would be similarly respectful of the bird. I was, therefore, unprepared for her spontaneous and uncontrolled exclamation of "Oh, it's SOOO CUTE!" This, of course sent our feathered friend back to it's burrow, though it was not concerned enough to retreat further than the entrance, and clearly still was not particularly concerned about us:




I'll leave you with couple pictures of what Laura tells me is a willet in the surf, though I'm not so sure.


I mean, I've heard of the cowbird, but based upon it's stance, this one appears to be a cowboy bird:


Git along, little birdie, git along...

Next time: crazy people.