Cat And Mouse

Among a pair of efforts to observe wildlife this past week, an unplanned early morning trip to Harns Marsh Preserve was made.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in June 2010.

I was thus able to accomplish my hope of visiting this fine venue at least monthly for two consecutive months now.

I was amazed by the apparent complete absence of wildlife at the preserve after setting up my gear and deleting the images on the camera's memory card from my last venture.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in June 2010.

Doing that reminded me of an opinion I recently read where memory cards are so relatively inexpensive these days that images should remain on them for storage, but I don't think the cards are that inexpensive yet, especially if you're shooting RAW.

It was mere minutes after settling down that I observed a Snail Kite land on a perch across the water directly in front of me.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in June 2010.

A moment later an Osprey flew in from the south and drove the kite from its perch which remained unoccupied for the next hour until the Osprey landed on it after appearing again seemingly out of nowhere.

There is rarely visual evidence of snails in the water at the preserve which the kites pluck from the water's surface while countless numbers of shells should be seen all along the preserve's water's edge in a couple of months based on my observations last year.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in June 2010.

Since my visit to Harns Marsh Preserve last month, the grass along the shoreline had been cut and most of the litter was removed.

The clean-up effort was possibly done by a local Boy Scout troop as I had read was a preserve sponsor last year.

The Little Blue Heron above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in June 2010.

Within a short while of arriving at the preserve, the bird activity was prolific.

There was significantly more Snail Kite activity than observed last month while disappointingly less Limpkin activity visually.

The Osprey above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in June 2010.

The Snail Kite that had been driven from its perch reappeared over the tree line and upon having a view of the Osprey preening itself on it, the kite meekly flew back out of view.

All the regulars for this time of year and area were seen while I was extremely fortunate to observe the Wild Turkey for the first time.

The Glossy Ibis above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in June 2010.

It took some effort, due to the turkeys walking through taller grass and the long distance, to ultimately count what I think were ten in the flock which makes for a very large family of offspring.

A laggard juvenile in the group was as far as 35 feet back from the adult in the lead at one point.

The White Morph Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in June 2010.

It was extremely exciting for me to add the Wild Turkey to my "lifer" list and was especially a treat to see the large family of Wild Turkey I did.

Earlier in the week I made a trip to the Cape Coral Library to see how the Burrowing Owl pair were fairing I had last observed six weeks earlier.

The Wild Turkey above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in June 2010.

While I've seen the owls and their offspring at burrows I had been observing south of the library earlier this spring, the owls at the burrow adjacent to the library this past week appeared unsuccessful in rearing young as none were observed.

Mating activity of the owls this week due to the absence of juveniles wasn't observed as expected.

The Snail Kite above was photographed at Harns Marsh Preserve in June 2010.

The absence of juveniles at this particular burrow is possibly due to weather conditions of an unusually cold winter and very prolific rainfall of late.

I was able to photograph the female carrying a sock to the burrow which is mating or nesting behavior.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in June 2010.

It's my plan to send the shot to National Geographic in response to their story in the July issue of the magazine to make a correlation between the behaviors of the Burrowing Owl and their featured "Birds That Decorate," the Bowerbird.

In the magazine's article, 17 of the 20 known species of this bird genera are noted where the male will build a lair of sorts out of twigs and sticks to attract a mate.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in June 2010.

At the front of the lair, the males will decorate the ground with natural and unnatural items they find including trash when available as they attempt to seduce a female to mate.

When successful, the female will lay eggs at another location.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in June 2010.

The female Burrowing Owl observed "decorating" the entrance to its burrow lends a degree of protection from predators to its young as I have observed and read, but wonder if there is any additional intent in its behavior, perhaps bonding with its mate.

The male was observed bringing the female an insect, but I couldn't photograph the event as I was unprepared for the low light conditions.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in June 2010.

The differences between the Burrowing Owl and Bowerbirds are significant, but it's interesting how similarly the two species behave, isn't it?

Cape Coral Owls In Love

The community of Cape Coral, Florida, certainly must pride itself in its very likely booming population of Burrowing Owls.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

This writing is made one month after my first observation of the species having made in this time ten trips to the area around the Cape Coral Library in search of this very interesting bird.

David Sibley has written that the Burrowing Owl is the only small owl of ten species he's observed and documented in North America likely to be seen readily in daylight.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The intent of my documentation of this species is for the sheer enjoyment of observing the birds and documenting and understanding their behavior through photography.

Upon my first encounter with this species in the late afternoon, I continued to observe the nest until nearly pitch dark.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

It was my great luck in doing that as I observed the owls I was watching mate after sunset.

In all succeeding visits to study the owls thus far, mating has been observed at each burrow nest on every occasion after sunset.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

I had initially thought that the mating event occurred only at this time, but have been able to document this behavior shortly before sunset.

All of my observations have been made in the late afternoon and later where I cannot say whether mating occurs in the morning hours or at any other time of day or night.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

Typically and predictably, mating of the Burrowing Owl has been observed within 30 minutes after sunset.

This has allowed just enough light on some occasions to photograph the event without flash.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

Of course under such circumstances, even with a camera setting for low light conditions, the result is a need for a slow shutter speed leading to a blurred effect.

With the use of flash photography I have been able to capture the birds in the act with a better appreciation for behavioral aspects like the touching of beaks.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The owls will typically be seen together at the entrance to the burrow this time of year.

This leads me to believe that there have been no eggs laid yet, at least of the owls I've been watching.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

On my last visit to the Cape Coral Library, I didn't make a drive by the nest where I'd first seen the Burrowing Owl.

The original pair were not there the last few times I attempted to see them which might indicate that mating had successfully occurred.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

I'm also considering that these particular owls abandoned the nest for another in the large expanse to the north of the library.

The latter could easily be explained by kids that are on the move in the area.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

One particular event which required much patience and preparation in setting up the camera for a favorable view and documentation was met with failure as the camera didn't fire when needed.

The owls directly above were observed to mate again nearly exactly 35 minutes later when there was no natural light left for photography.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The second mating event nonetheless went on without fail, hopefully successfully for the next generation of Florida Burrowing Owl.

The two mating events unable to be photographed due to low light conditions will hopefully be the last.

The scene above was photographed at Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

There simply has to be better anticipation of the event with greater control and understanding of the photo gear.

The photo gear seen above, north of the Cape Coral Library, belongs to Marcus Sonntag visiting the area from Germany.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The owls are missing in the shot as they were at another burrow commanded by them just to the west and seemed to have control of all the burrows on the significant parcel of land with no other owls immediately present.

I was very surprised that Marcus chose not to wait ten minutes after I last saw him to photograph the Burrowing Owl mating event at my recommendation.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The owls will almost always, as I recall, "talk" to each other within minutes of the male being allowed to mount the female.

I had been told by pedestrians at a burrow I was observing in late March that a nest in the vicinity of the Cape Coral Library can be found literally only a few feet from the road.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

In my attempt to see it on my last visit led me to get lost briefly as I took too early a turn off of Skyline Boulevard which wasn't a disappointment as I was able to observe owls at other places I would possibly never have otherwise.

I think I ultimately found the nest that was recommended, although there weren't owls at the entrance to the burrow.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

This nest was recommended of Burrowing Owls that had produced five fledglings last year and perhaps these birds had successfully mated and were simply in the burrow.

Continued observation and travels around the area will be helpful in further understanding.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

Another comment I heard from a pedestrian was that the owls will utilize domestic animal poop at their burrow entrances.

If true, it would certainly be for deterrence of predatory behavior against the fledglings in the late spring through summer months before the young are expected to fend for themselves.

The Burrowing Owl above was photographed near Cape Coral Library in March 2010.

The mating of the Burrowing Owl is a very brief event as with all other bird species I've observed.

With your good fortune, you'll hopefully consider participating in observation of the event in the future.