Burrowing Owls at Vista View Park
Last weekend I drove from Tampa to the Fort Lauderdale area and stayed at Markham Park. This was my second visit to Markham, having camped there in January during the Everglades Birding Festival. I arrived on a Saturday afternoon and settled in for the evening. Sunday was a total rainout. Monday I was off work for President’s Day, so I drove around with one target bird in mind: the Yellow-headed Caracara. A native of South America, they are rare to find in the U.S., but one was spotted in the area in December and January, most notably at Oleta River State Park and Haulover Park in Miami. Despite spending the day visiting both areas I never saw the caracara. It was a long shot anyway.
That catches me up to this weekend. On Saturday I visited Vista View Park in Davie. Vista View Park opened in 2003 on the site of a landfill that was repurposed to make the park. The park is hilly, mostly open grass space, and lots of parking. One manmade hill in the park rises to 65 feet above sea level and provides nice views of the surrounding area. It’s on the hilltop where you can find dozens of Burrowing Owls. Their nests are roped off to keep people and their pets back, so they are really easy to find. Before visiting the owls, I stopped by the park office and told them I was there to photograph the owls and asked if there were any restrictions on approaching them. They said just to stay back at least 20 feet and I’d be good to go. Perfect.
Nest Site for Burrowing Owls. You can see two little owls in the roped off area. While they are quite exposed, there is plenty of room for them to find insects nearby. iPhone 14
I found an active burrow right away and approached cautiously. Two little pint size owls were standing at the opening of their burrow, all covered with sand from digging. I was once again struck by how small they are - just a little pint size cute little owl.
Burrowing Owls. These owls are standing at the opening of their nest. If a predator comes near, they’ll give an alert call and dive into their burrow. Otherwise, they kinda just stand there looking around. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/11, 1/800 sec, ISO 3200.
I walked over to another burrow and this adult owl was standing on the wooden pole that that supports the rope fence. After a few shots, he flew off to a nearby tree. I followed and didn’t really know what to expect. I didn’t know if he would stay there or if he would fly right back to the nest. Well, ten minutes later and he was still there. This tree was on a heavily used trail and the owl didn’t seem to mind the people walking and jogging by. I don’t think anyone would have seen the owl if I hadn’t been there pointing my lens at it, and even then most people didn’t seem to care as they kept marching down the trail.
Burrowing Owl atop a Wooden Post. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/2000 sec, ISO 450.
Burrowing Owl in a tree. Look how tiny he is in tree! iPhone 14.
Burrowing Owl. This was the first (and so far only) time I have ever seen a Burrowing Owl in a tree. He stayed up there a long while too! I watched him for about 15 minutes, even taking time to run back to my camper to get my tripod, and he was still there! Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 1400.
Burrowing Owl. Soon after landing in the tree, he hopped onto a branch just a few feet higher. Unfortunately, there was no way to avoid some crossing branches, but still happy to get a relatively clean shot. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/2000 sec, ISO 2200.
Leaving the owl to carry on with his day in the tree, I went to a few more burrows hoping to see some owlets. I didn’t find any, probably because it’s too early in the season. Maybe in a month they’ll be out.
Burrowing Owl. Always on alert, this adult looks for predators high above. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 400.
Burrowing Owl. I photographed this owl in January. When I revisited the burrow this weekend, it was abandoned. Hopefully this owl relocated safely to another burrow. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 1400.
Many other birds are at Vista View Park. There is a large colony of Glossy Ibis there, and Monk Parakeets noisily chatter in the treetops around the park. Hawks glide above, and songbirds can be found in trees lining the parking areas. I highly recommend this park if you’re in the area. It’s well worth the $3 admission.
Later that day, on my way to Fort De Soto Park, I stopped by Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. But I’ll cover that in another post!
Happy birding!
