Owls and Other Bird Brains

 We were discussing among ourselves with our houseguest yesterday about the Burrowing Owl that claims this part of Florida as their home.  There is a Burrowing Owl Festival here in Cape Coral on Saturday February 25.  Our houseguest went for a walk in the area the other night and encountered a large black bird and wanted to know what it was.  Of  course we weren't sure, but we thought she had encountered a Burrowing Owl.  

There are only 10,000 breeding pairs of Burrowing Owls with some as far away as Alaska, some in California, and some here in this area of Florida and other parts of the state.  They are nocturnal birds and are relatively small for being owls.  They average nine inches in height with an average wingspan of 21 inches.  They are sandy in color.  But what I find interesting is that here in Cape Coral, the city puts up perching crosses near the holes of Burrowing Owls.  Their range is anywhere in the Western Hemisphere including the Caribbean, Mexico, and South Ameeica.

They take over burrows from ground squirrels, prarie dogs, and moles.  They are not real common, but a number of them have called this area home.  It seems to me that those 10,000 breeding pairs cover a large territory, but too their habitat is being destroyed and in some cases pests like prarie dogs and ground squirrels are almost hunted to extinction in agricultural areas of their habitat.  Burrowing Owls eat insects during the day and hunt mice and other small rodents at night.  

Well, there you have it about Burrowing Owls.  I hear the one or two we have in the neighborhood quite often as I am right now as I am writing this post.  I didn't realize these owls were so famous.  They must be hooting about the festival in their honor on Saturday.  On the bird scale of intelligence, over all Owls really aren't that bright.  But they were associated with Athena by the Greeks and have been revered ever since.  But really, on the scale of bird brains Parrots are among the smartest followed by Crows, Ravens, and Macaws being the smartest.  

Well,  it's 72 right now and is supposed to get up to 87 for the high today.  I know there is a snowstorm in the Midwest and Northeast.  I saw that 1500 flights have been canceled thus far.  I am on the patio smoking my only Viking pipe with my Good Stuff mixture.  Thank you for your time and Peace to each one of you.

Dave