FLORIDA - BURROWING OWLS

This morning Kathi and I took a short trip to look for BURROWING OWLS at Brian Piccolo Park near Pembroke Pines. It was certainly easy finding these great birds even in the heat of midday. At one burrow we came across one adult perched up in a tree.





At another burrow we watched a pair of owls interact by their nest burrow. What was presumably the male offered a blob of something to his mate. We weren't sure if it was nesting material or food, but the female readily accepted it.

FLORIDA highlights

I started off my trip to Texas with a detour to Florida to video a few target species. One of the highlights there was an airboat tour of Lake Kissimmee to see Snail Kites. I had several fantastic encounters with the kites. Although I was focusing on video I did manage to crank off a few stills.


Another amazing experience on the boat trip was seeing a Sandhill Crane on the nest just twenty feet away... really neat!


The road into the boat ramp is one of my favourite places for birding in Florida. You get great opportunities for photos and video work there. Here is an example.


Nearby Three Lakes WMA was good for birding but a huge Cottonmouth crossing the road while I ate a picnic lunch was a stroke of luck.



Vultures and Crested Caracara were both common in the same area. At one roadside deer kill there were at least fifty vultures including this Black Vulture with a wing tag. I haven't found out the background on this yet but will post when I do.



So after a fantastic start to my trip in Florida I am now off to Texas to meet Ethan. Looking forward to a couple of weeks of great shooting!