On the Trail: Give a hoot

Many locals and visitors are now on the trail of a very special Southwest Florida resident. With all the excitement about Carl Hiassen's recent children's book Hoots, and the subsequent feature film release, the popularity of owls is on the rise.

Our local owls do not behave like most common owls of storybooks and legend, because they are not completely nocturnal. As a result, children of all ages can easily begin their own expeditionary experience and see these trendy creatures in broad daylight.

The burrowing owl is listed as a species of special concern in Florida and has many friends in the local ornithological community. Know in scientific circles as athene cunicularia, these small owls with the black and brown spots can easily be observed standing on long, spindly legs. These fashionably petite little characters weigh only about six to eight ounces and, like many of the "chicks" in our own society, they are short in stature. An adult burrowing owl measures only about 10 inches high — they look bigger in the movies and on television.

Clearly, burrowing owls prefer the soft sandy ground of vacant lots found on Marco Island and make their homes just under the loamy surface. They have the unique ability to use their feet and legs to dig burrows large enough to accommodate an entire family in comfort and privacy.

After extensive excavation, and believe me the sand does fly, the elite owls of Marco are ready to set up housekeeping. The owls reproduce in May through early June and the females normally lay 3 to 12 eggs in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 28 days while the male searches for food. The little hooters appear at the burrow's entrance about two weeks after hatching and are able to hunt for small insects and lizards in just over one month.

The adults prefer a more sophisticated culinary experience, such as moles and mice, but often cleanse the palate with other more seasonable entrées such as grasshoppers and beetles. In the winter season, they dine on small birds and other exotics, such as lizards and frogs.

Finding owls in our own community is a pleasing pastime and I know of several burrowing owl fans that routinely drive out of their way to stop and watch the ongoing activities of one of the smallest but most popular species of owls. It is especially fun in summer (to watch from a respectful distance) as the newly hatched birds emerge from the burrows to begin hunting and flying lessons. Like all up-and-coming popular celebrities, these little fledglings are fast learners and can fly very well in only six weeks.

On most well-known burrows, our island owls have the pleasure of resting atop human-made perches and are protected by small staked-out areas linked together with florescent tape. Even though the taped-off enclaves shield the nests, ornithologists suggest binoculars for up-close viewing.

Burrowing owls reside from the Mississippi to the Pacific and from Canada all the way down to South America. Little is known about the life span of these ornithological icons, but the most current record of survival is about nine years.

Unlike popular belief and urban legend, these fashionable high flyers do not call out with a "hoot-hoot," but communicate with a tremulous or chattering call. The little owls normally do not offer auditable comments, but are content to observe humans silently from a distance.

As we often watch with fascination their every behavior, these little birds are surprisingly unaffected by nearby human activities. Even with constant traffic and nearby construction, whole families of the feathered elite perch behind security fencing to watch ground-bound humans and their peculiar habits.

Unlike many of our human celebrities, our local owls pose patiently for photographs and seem ready to please the media. They readily ignore elaborate cameras set atop alien-looking tripods and the ever-encroaching giants behind these spiderlike devices.

Even though these good-looking, long-legged chicks are beautiful and fun to watch, please take a moment and consider trading places. What if you became suddenly popular? Would you want the paparazzi waiting outside your house with their cameras in your face?