Florida Atlantic University Gives Burrowing Owls the Boot
February 17, 2025



EMCEE: Ladies and gentlemen, the Burrowing Owl of North America, Athene cunicularia.

BURROWING OWL: I have a brief comment and then I will take your questions. As you know, we Burrowing Owls are in the news down south in Boca Raton, Florida, at the Florida Atlantic University, to be precise. It seems that construction workers down there are getting ready to usher a so-called "cluster" of burrowing owls off of their living quarters on university grounds in order to erect a new residency hall on their territory. The plan has become controversial, however, as students have begun questioning the wisdom of relocating the owls. Students are wondering how that action would reflect on their university's priorities. You've got to remember that the University has a special relationship with us burrowing owls. The campus was declared a Burrowing Owl Sanctuary by the Audubon Society in 1971 and its campus mascot is a Burrowing Owl named Owlsley¹.

Personally, I think the students have a point, but then I suppose that I am biased given the fact that I myself am an owl of the burrowing persuasion.

Questions?

Yes, how many burrowing owls would be affected by this relocation?

Well, my knowledge of the topic comes mainly from a story published today by reporter Sephora Charles in the University Press. She quotes a university official as saying that only two owls have been observed on the site.

Next question, please.

I hear that a petition is being passed around to block the removal of the owls. Is that true?

Yes. Apparently, the head of the university's Sustainability Club, an engineering senior named Jose Camacho, has started a petition to, quote, "urge the university to consider a more eco-friendly approach to campus development." It seems that the petition has garnered over 1,000 signatures in just five days.

Next question?

How is the overall population holding up on campus?

Apparently rather well. That spokesman I mentioned above claims that the burrowing owl population at FAU has more than doubled in the last ten years, from 23 individuals to 59.

Excellent!

I should also mention that this issue is not new to the university. I just saw an article in a local paper published ten years ago with a headline that reads:

"FAU Plans to Demolish Acres of Burrowing Owl Habitat to Construct New Dormitories, Environmentalists Say²"

That's a headline from April 30, 2014, but it could have been written today.

Well, you know what they say: the more things change for burrowing owls, the more things remain the same for burrowing owls.

Oh? Do they say that?

Of course, you can't blame my species for loving it down there. Not only does the university provide a nearly predator-free sanctuary, but it is just 4,847 feet away from the state-owned Boca Raton airport, and you know how much we Burrowing Owls love airports. There's something about a wide open airfield that one can take in at a glance with just a little head bobbing. It's hard to explain. Maybe we Burrowing Owls were all airline pilots in our previous lives!

Or bobble-head dolls?

All right, who said that?!

Will you be traveling to Boca Raton to protest the new development on the campus of Florida Atlantic University?

No. Unfortunately, I live on the other side of the state, in Cape Coral, on the Gulf of Mexico, and since we southern burrowing owls are not migratory, I'm obliged to stay put. One must not disobey instinct, after all, at least not in the owl kingdom. Besides, my mating season just began two days ago according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, so I've got to get busy. I've only got five months in which to find a mate and start a family. And it all starts with a little wooing. That means bringing food to my beloved and impressing her with my ability to hover in mid-air and so forth. Speaking of which, I had better start practicing my trademark courtship call. Perhaps you've heard it before? It sounds like a kind of coo-coo, I'm told. But hold on: I'll sing it for you as I hop off stage.

[Burrowing owl cooing]

Did you catch that? Here, I'll do it again.

[Burrowing owl cooing]

EMCEE: Ladies and gentlemen, the Burrowing Owl of North America, Athene cunicularia.


1: FAU, University Press
2: FAU Plans to Demolish Acres of Burrowing Owl Habitat to Construct New Dormitories, Environmentalists Say, Broward Palm Beach New Times

A Win-Win Situation at the North American Owl Awards
January 19, 2025



I can't believe it! I won TWO Golden Owl Pellets at the North American Owl Awards Ceremony for 2025. They recognized me for Perkiest-Looking North American Owl and for Best Owl in a Motion Picture for the movie "Hoot"!

See for yourself, guys! Listen to the North American Owl Awards ceremony, live from Zimman Field at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts!

Welcome!
December 6, 2024



Howdy, folks, and welcome to the Burrowing Owl Blog.

I use that greeting advisedly, by the way, because we Burrowing Owls used to be called Howdy Owls by your cowboys out west¹. You see, my species has a habit of bobbing its head up and down when we get agitated, and I guess your cattle punchers construed that as a greeting, hence the name “the Howdy Owl.” Bird-loving homo sapiens have also called us Ground Owls, logically enough, since my species tends to hunt, eat, and nest on the ground. Other popular designations for yours truly include Prairie Bobber, Billy Owl, Rattlesnake Owl, Gopher Owl² and even Cuckoo Owl³, no doubt on account of one of the zanier of our alarm calls. We have a wide variety of calls⁴, depending on whether we’re courting partners or defending territory, and our young ones can even mimic a rattling rattlesnake to scare predators away, hence that Rattlesnake appellation. Officially speaking, however, scientists refer to me as Athene cunicularia⁵. Athena is the Greek Goddess of wisdom and “cunicularia” is a Latin word for “burrower.⁶” (Yes, this WILL be on the test!)

But there’s no need for you guys to stand on ceremony: you can just call me “Doug.” I am that perky little long-legged owl who commandeers the holes of ground squirrels and prairie dogs, where our families hang out like so many big-eyed meerkats, on the constant qui vive for predators and prey⁷.

But I’ll get into deets about my species specs in future blog posts. For now, suffice it to say that we are creative little beggars.

You’d be surprised. Take animal dung for instance. It has no good uses, right? Wrong! We actually line our burrows with the stuff in order to attract insects. It’s like home delivery: the food comes to us! And the dung also serves to mask our own smells⁸, hence keeping us off the radar of predators: falcons, hawks, weasels, ferrets, badgers: you name it⁹.

How do we do it, you ask? Well, to be fair, we owls have a very poor sense of smell¹⁰. I’m told that the Great Horned Owl will even eat skunks¹¹! (“Very good, monsieur. Would monsieur like some Limberger cheese with that?”)

I’m supposed to keep these entries short, so I think I’ll end this installment with some well-justified bragging.

Did you know that my cousin in the Caribbean is the National Symbol of Aruba? It’s true, ever since 2015! It shows you that persistence pays off. The Burrowing Owl had been on the island of Aruba for one and a half million years before the locals finally got around to recognizing it like that. Apparently, they’ve come to love Burrowing Owls down there. They call them “Shoco” in the local language of Papamiento. They’ve even written children’s books about my Caribbean cousin, like “The Call of the Shoco” and “Mr. Shoco Knows Best.”¹²

But the recognition came none too soon, as the species population on the island is currently down to 150 pairs. 150!¹³ We’re in danger of going the way of a growing list of other formerly indigenous species, including the Scaly-naped Pigeon, and the Rufous-collared Sparrow, both of which have disappeared from Aruban skies over the past few decades¹⁴.

Just a few more things to keep us up at night, right? Although, we burrowing owls are night owls, anyway, especially during the breeding season¹⁵. We’ve got to keep our larders filled for the little ones, don't we?


1: Burrowing Owls Burrowing Owls in Saskatchewan, Nature Saskatchewan
2: Burrowing Owls Burrowing Owls in Saskatchewan, Nature Saskatchewan
3: Burrowing Owl, Owl Research Institute
4: Burrowing Owl Sounds, Cornell Lab: All About Birds
5: Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia, Cornell Lab eBird
6: Burrowing Owl, Animal Spot
7: Species Spotlight: Burrowing Owl: A Funny Little Owl, Oregon Natural Desert Association
8: Use of dung as a tool by burrowing owls, Nature
9: Burrowing Owl, Britannica
10: Exploring Owl Senses: More Than Just Sight and Sound, The Owls Life
11: Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus, The Skunk Corner
12: Athene cunicularia arubensis, Wikipedia
13: Aruba's burrowing owl or Shoco, Aruba Today
14: Aruba's burrowing owl or Shoco, Aruba Today
15: The Life and Habits of the Burrowing Owl, Rarest Birds