Give a Hoot

The Eighth Annual Owl Watch End of Season Party on Saturday, November 2nd, was a time for staff, incredible volunteers, and partners to come together and review the year. The 2023-2024 burrowing owl nesting season presented increased challenges in a growing urban environment. “Although the owls are extremely resilient, the community needs to do their part in helping keep them safe, reducing negative impacts, and providing habitat,” said Brittany Piersma, Wildlife Biologist from Audubon Western Everglades. “The future of this threatened species on Marco Island truly relies on everyone!” 

The Owl Watch Program thanks the multiple employees of the Marco Police Department for attending and staff from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida along with the other “owl” partners: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) under the University of Georgia, and Dr. Raoul Boughton.  

Marco Island had 218 pairs of owls this past season that produced 151 nests and fledged 410 owlets. Only about one-third of the fledglings survive to the next season. There were 136 starter burrows on Marco Island. 55 became excavated by an owl. There were 22 pairs that produced 19 nests and fledged 58 owlets! There was a decrease in pairs and fledged chicks this season,which we are watching closely while monitoring other issues. If you are interested in a starter burrow, email us at owlwatchmarco@gmail.com. 

The team rescued 19 owls and found 36 deceased owls that were shipped to FWC andSCWDSfor testing. Since 2022, 61 burrowing owls have been sent for testing. “The results have been increasingly upsetting,” said Piersma.“55 burrowing owls tested positive for at least one type of rat poison in their system;four were negative results are still pending on two more. And it’s not only owls that have been tested. Hawks, larger owls, and screech owls were also sent with most coming back as positive for rodenticide poisoning.” 

Reducing/eliminating rat poison on the island is one of the main focuses in protecting all birds of prey and mammals. “There is no safe poison,” said Piersma. “This can be a huge threat to your own dog or cat!” 

The first step in eliminating poison traps at your property is analyzing why you have a rat problem or if you have a rat problem. Many newly built homes are immediately placing rat poison boxes without any knowledge of a rat issue and no foundation threat as the house was just installed. Keep trash contained and in your garage, remove any unwanted fruit trees, keep branches away from rooftops, limit debris piles, and do not use poison if you do not have a problem as it draws rats to your home. Alternatives to rat poison are detour gel contained, snap traps contained, good nature C02 traps, and rat zappers contained. Check out the October 3, 2024, Coastal Breeze article “Rodenticide Alternative Trial at Mackle Park” on the partnership with Wisdom Good Works and for more information on the future of fertility feed options. The pilot program using Good Bites fertility feed is live and running at Mackle Park under Loretta Mayer and Alaina Gonzalez-White.  

Banding efforts help to understand owl survival, site fidelity, reproduction success, and owl movements. Dr. Raoul Boughton is the banding advisor and has helped with the owl program for many years. His research on burrowing owls statewide is extremely valuable in directing the research. This past season, Owl Watch volunteers and other partners helped Piersma capture and band 152 adults and 36 chicks. There were 67 adults and 14 fledglingsre-sighted from the previous season, and 11 deceased banded owls were found. If you ever spot an injured or deceased owl, contact Owl Watch or the Conservancy of Southwest Florida immediately. Part of thebanding efforts were focused on sites being removed to track where the pairs end up the next season. The data has shown so far that the pairs hold a territory and try to find the closest habitat within half a mile. This is why starter burrows are so important in areas that are losing vacant properties.  

Volunteer training for the next season will be hosted in January. If you are interested in becoming an Owl Watch volunteer, please email owlwatchmarco@gmail.com. The research and protection of these owls could not be done without the amazing team of 88 volunteers who dedicated their entire year to monitoring the owls and reporting any concerns. Thank you to any citizens who report new burrows, banded owls, or any violations. Nesting can start as early as November in Southwest Florida. Thankfully, the owls were done nesting when the hurricanes arrived, and they spent the last couple of months finding safe places to rest and hide from migratory hawks and other predators. The Owl Watch Team look forward to continuing their work into the 2024-2025 nesting season.